


Once in a Blue Moon

by SasuNarufan13



Series: Coloured verse [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, AlphaGaara, AlphaItachi, AlphaSasuke, Angst, Drama, Foul Language, Lemons, Liberties taken with medical practices, Lime, M/M, Mpreg, OmegaDeidara, OmegaNaruto, Possessive Alpha, Sasuke's POV, Side story The Grass is Green on the Other Side
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-07
Updated: 2015-10-09
Packaged: 2018-04-13 10:41:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 55,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4518768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SasuNarufan13/pseuds/SasuNarufan13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For six years Sasuke lived a pretty routine life. Eat, work, sleep. Repeat. He didn't show any interest in getting a mate. Until he met his new patient. Maybe the tale of soulmates wasn't just a fairy tale ...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Author's note: Like promised, here is the first chapter of Sasuke's pov of The Grass is Green on the Other Side. For any newcomers, you don't necessarily have to read The Grass is Green on the Other Side first - this is Sasuke's version of the story and the other one is Naruto's. Should you read Naruto's pov first, you'll know how this story will end LOL
> 
> Now I have to admit that I'm kind of nervous to post this, because a lot of you seem to have high expectations of this fic and I don't want to disappoint you guys. So I did my best *sweatdrops*
> 
> The chapters will be long: between 6K and 8K. Just a heads up.
> 
> Warnings: A/B/O theme; slash; MPreg; Alpha being possessive; Sasuke's pov. I think that's mostly it for this chapter.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto owns it.
> 
> If you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.
> 
> This story will be updated every two weeks, as my exams nearly start and I need time to edit the long chapters. I apologise for that, but at least I can assure you that there won't be any delays.
> 
> I'm still accepting scenes to turn into omake :) These omake will be posted after Sasuke's story is finished.
> 
> Hopefully you like Sasuke's version of the story; please leave your thoughts behind in a review! I've never attempted before to create another pov of the same story, so yeah *coughs*
> 
> See you all in two weeks!

_Chapter 1_

"I'll see you again in a month, Kato-san. Take care of yourself," Sasuke murmured and stood up to see her out of his office.

She smiled at him and patted her rounded stomach. "Thank you for your time, Uchiha-sensei."

He opened the door to the waiting room for her and raised an eyebrow when he saw a familiar, blond haired man idly browsing through one of the older magazines he had left on the table for his clients to peruse during their wait.

"You're early today," he remarked casually and clucked his tongue when he noticed the absence of two dark haired people who usually accompanied the blond to his check-ups. "What, no brat or bastard today?"

Baby blue eyes rolled in exasperation and Sasuke stepped aside to let him inside his office.

"Itachi has a meeting with an important client and Akihito is with his grandmother, un," Deidara explained, removing his coat and gloves. His cheeks were still quite pink from the cold November wind.

"How have you been?" Sasuke inquired and grabbed his brother-in-law's file out of his cabinet. He laid it open on his desk, ready to jot down notes if it was necessary.

"I'm fine. Your mother, however, seems to suffer from memory loss," Deidara sneered, rubbing absentmindedly over his bulging belly.

A thin, dark eyebrow rose up. "I hope it's not too serious," he drawled; knowing by now that he shouldn't always believe whatever the blond Omega told him. The long haired blond had a tendency to exaggerate things at times.

"She seems to think that this is my first child. Can't stop blabbing about all the things I have to do and how to take care of the baby," the other one complained; his eyes flashing up in annoyance. "It's not like I have been taking care of a child for the past five years after all, un."

"The horrors of an excited grandmother," Sasuke spoke idly. He couldn't exactly say he felt sorry for his brother-in-law; the more his mother nagged the blond, the less likely she was to turn to _him_ and start nagging _him_ about his non-existent family life.

He knew she meant well, but that didn't make her concerned chattering and attempts to set him up with Omega or Beta less annoying.

Deidara scowled at him, crossing his arms on top of his belly. "I hope she turns to you soon. Let's see how you'll react then!"

Sasuke merely smirked, not deigning that retort worthy of a reply. "You ready for your check-up?"

Deidara nodded and while his eyes carried a chiding look – knowing exactly what Sasuke was thinking - an excited smile trembled around his lips and he made his way over to the bed, next to which a monitor stood waiting; its screen still black.

The blond bared his stomach, knowing the drill by now, and allowed Sasuke to spread the cold gel over his stomach, only shivering slightly.

While Sasuke slowly moved the transducer across the rounded stomach, he pointed out the legs and arms to Deidara.

"Looks like he's in good health. He's growing like he should," Sasuke murmured, studying the screen intently.

"That's good to hear, un," Deidara smiled; his eyes bright as they gazed at the screen tenderly. "I recommended you to my friend, by the way."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, moving the transducer down a bit. "Oh?" he remarked casually.

"Yep, he needs someone who can help him and you're the only one who will be able to do that," Deidara stated confidently.

"You sound so certain of that," the dark haired man murmured and sighed. "It's dangerous to get your friend's hopes up, Deidara. I'm not perfect."

Blue eyes caught his in a determined gaze. "You're the best doctor in this field, Sasuke-kun. You know Itachi would have never let you examine me if he didn't trust you. Even with you being his brother, he would have never entrusted you with us, if he didn't trust your skills," Deidara spoke softly, but calmly. "I know you'll be able to help my friend, so I told him to contact you."

"You complain about my not visiting you enough and then you go, adding more to my workload," Sasuke chided and rolled his eyes. He removed the transducer and while copies were being made of the ultrasound, he gave Deidara some paper towels to clean his stomach.

The blond huffed, wiping off the clear gel. "We both know that even if I hadn't given you a new patient, you still wouldn't have visited more often," he bit out annoyed.

Sasuke pursed his lips together and checked a sigh. They had entered dangerous territory again. Usually they were quite good at avoiding those particular pitfalls, but every once in a while, Deidara couldn't stop himself and let his bitterness leak out.

And well, maybe he _did_ deserve some of that bitterness.

"I'm sorry, Deidara," he said softly, turning off the monitor. "I tend to lose track of time when I'm working, you know that. It's nothing personal."

The Omega eyed him shrewdly and he covered his stomach by pushing down his sweater. "If you're really sorry, you'll visit us this weekend, un," he sniffed and he looked a couple of seconds away from pouting.

"Are you seriously going to guilt trip me into visiting you?" Sasuke asked incredulously and stood up, gesturing the blond to follow him to his desk again. He grabbed the thin package of copies on his way to his desk.

"Is it working?" Deidara shot back, slipping his coat back on.

"Fine, fine, I'll visit you on Sunday," Sasuke grunted and resolutely ignored the way baby blue eyes lit up in wonder.

"Really? You're not going to skip it with some lame excuse, un?" the blond asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes.

"If I did, you would probably sic Itachi on me or that giant Kisame," Sasuke grunted and put the copies into a blank envelope.

"Damn right I would," Deidara said satisfied.

"Right, everything is in order. Your next check-up is at the end of next month. Then we'll see if the baby is getting in the right position," Sasuke announced and wrote down his comments in Deidara's file. He placed the package of the ultrasound copies in front of the Omega. "Here are the pictures."

"Thanks, Sasuke-kun," Deidara smiled gratefully and stood up, putting on his gloves. "I'll see you on Sunday?" A blond eyebrow was raised in an unspoken challenge.

Sasuke snorted, shoving the file back into his cabinet underneath the right letter. "Yes, yes, I'll see you on Sunday," he dismissed his brother-in-law and kept his back towards him, so that he could hide his small smile when he heard the victorious 'whoop' sound escaping the blond.

Maybe he should attempt to visit his family more. At least to avoid the additional nagging.

* * *

When he went home that evening, his breath left him in visible, white clouds. Above him the dark sky shone with millions of gold dots, twinkling down at him gently. At this late hour at night, practically nobody was venturing down the streets. Most people would be in bed already or at the very least preparing themselves for it.

The gate closed behind his car automatically and the pebbles crunched softly underneath his shoes. He locked up his car and approached his house, fiddling with his house key to open the door. Tiredness was sweeping over him, making him gently sway on his feet and all he wanted right now was to take a shower and just go to sleep. His stomach grumbled a bit in protest, but he had had a turkey sandwich for dinner and that would have to do until tomorrow morning. Or later that day, depending on how one looked at it, as his eyes caught sight of his watch, which read twelve thirty.

The keys made an audible 'chink' sound when they were dropped in the ceramic bowl standing on the small table and he kicked off his shoes, too tired to put them away properly.

While he loosened his tie and undid the first three buttons on his shirt, he entered the spacious kitchen, bypassing the fridge and the table in favour of the answering machine on the furthest counter top. A red light was blinking, signalling that a message was waiting for him.

He read the number flashing across the small screen and narrowed his eyes. After a short bout of contemplation he decided that it would be best to hear the message now and get it over with.

"Uchiha, next time you decide to end it with someone, make sure they aren't dumb cunts," the ever eloquent and friendly voice of Suigetsu Hozuki resounded through the silent kitchen. "Or fucking persistent ones like this bitch. I finally managed to get it through her thick skull that you aren't interested in her anymore and that if she ever attempted to contact you again, being accused of harassment would be the least of her worries. You owe me a big bottle of some great scotch, you bastard."

The message ended abruptly with a loud "Beep, beep" sound.

An amused and at the same time weary huff escaped him and he removed the message with a simple press of the button. He stretched his arms, seemingly attempting to touch the ceiling, and rolled his shoulders, trying to get the kinks out of it.

Well, at least he didn't have to worry about his ex-girlfriend anymore after all this time.

Sasuke grimaced and walked upstairs, straight to the bathroom where he dumped his clothes in the plastic basket. He opened the shower and turned on the knob to start the warm water, while he collected his shampoo, body wash and a towel to dry himself afterwards.

Completely naked now and shivering due to the cold air in the bathroom, he stepped inside the shower, relaxing visibly when the warm water cascaded down his back and ran over his chest and stomach in rivulets.

It had been nearly six years since he had broken up with his girlfriend, but it had taken until now for her to finally understand that he really wasn't interested in her anymore and no, he would never give their relationship a second chance.

He snorted and raised his face, allowing the water to fall down on it, over his hair to remove all suds. At times it made him wonder what on earth he had ever seen in the clingy girl.

How he had ever even entertained the thought that she could have been _the one_?

 _But_ , he thought as he scrubbed his body briskly with the body wash, _at least it's over now_.

He should have called in Suigetsu's help sooner, but he had wanted to avoid that, as the man could get quite annoying in his crowing that he had helped him, the " _Great and Powerful Uchiha_ ". But the man was good at his job and ultimately it had been him who had caused the woman to back off for good.

He would send a bottle of scotch to that loud mouthed idiot next week. He deserved it for helping him out.

He shut off the shower and stepped out of it, onto the rug which absorbed the droplets falling off him. After having dried himself roughly, but thoroughly, he wrapped the towel around his hips and rubbed a smaller towel through his hair, trying to dry it as much as he could, so that it would be manageable tomorrow.

The small towel was thrown in the basket and still half naked, he sauntered into his large bedroom, bypassing the bed for the moment in favour of picking sleepwear out of his closet. Selecting a pair of dark blue trousers and a white, long sleeved shirt, he quickly donned them and returned to the bathroom to dump the other towel on top of the smaller one. He would need to do the laundry this weekend. Might as well do it on Sunday when he returned from Itachi's place.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Sasuke sunk down into his large bed, the mattress moulding itself to his body shape. Diligently he set his alarm and then settled for the night, exhaustion quickly taking over, putting him into a deep sleep.

Routine like it had been for the past six years.

* * *

When the front door opened, Sasuke blinked slowly in surprise. He had expected Deidara to welcome him, not his brother, who eyed him amused.

"Deidara guilt tripped you into coming here, didn't he?" Itachi deadpanned and stepped sideways, allowing the younger man to enter the house.

Sasuke grunted annoyed, kicking off his shoes, replacing them for the house slippers. "What? I can't visit my dear brother?" he asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"We both know you're not exactly the family type, Otouto," the older man remarked calmly and beckoned him to follow him.

Sasuke ignored his comment and looked around the house, trying to spot the golden blond hair and the soft mop of dark hair that belonged to his nephew. "Where are Deidara and the brat?" He followed his brother to the large kitchen, where Itachi started preparing tea for them both.

"They are out, visiting a friend," Itachi murmured, grabbing two tea bags out of their package and he placed them delicately in two cups, while the brand new kettle warmed up water. "They should be back soon, though."

Sasuke merely hummed in reply and pulled off his jacket; his eyes idly wandering around the kitchen. Not much had changed since he last had been here. Only a few applications seemed to have been replaced and a new series of drawings made by Akihito covered the fridge. Outside the wind howled fiercely, reminding everyone that winter would soon arrive.

"How's your work?" Sasuke asked abruptly and resolutely ignored Itachi's dry look, which asked him whether he really wanted to go down that boring route.

Hey, if he had to sacrifice his Sunday for this, Itachi didn't get to complain about his questions.

"Same old," Itachi answered after a short pause and he turned around when the kettle whistled. A couple of seconds later, a dark blue cup was placed in front of Sasuke; the two sugar cubes slowly dissolved in the Earl Grey tea. "Father is letting me have more reign over the company," he added idly and sat down in front of Sasuke.

"Good for you," Sasuke murmured and took a careful sip of his tea, pulling back abruptly when the tea proved too scalding hot to drink yet. He had forgotten that Itachi liked to drink his tea inhumanely hot. Just another piece of evidence that his brother wasn't normal.

"And you?"

"Got a couple of more clients. Otherwise, like usual," the younger of the two replied shortly. Sasuke's profession had been a sour topic between the two brothers for a while until the older one had accepted it after a near fatal call involving Deidara and Akihito.

"And did you meet someone new lately?" Itachi inquired; his dark gaze imploring.

Sasuke snorted, tapping a nail against his too warm cup. "Don't jump on the bandwagon now, Itachi, you were doing so well," he muttered darkly and finally risked to take another sip of the tea. It had cooled down enough for him to not risk second degree burns at least.

Itachi sighed and leant back in his chair; his low ponytail caught between his back and chair. "I just worry about you, Otouto. That's not a crime," he told him quietly.

"I'm fine, nii-san," Sasuke retorted annoyed. "I'm not looking for anyone right now."

"It's been almost six years, Sasuke, don't you think …"

Itachi's soft admonishment was cut off by the sound of the front door being opened and the excited chatter of his son.

"And have you seen the new painting of nii-san, daddy? It's so beautiful!" the little boy could be heard gushing and the soft 'thump' sounds announced the fact that he had removed his shoes.

"Nii-san?" Sasuke mouthed to Itachi, raising an eyebrow. "Did you hide another nephew of mine?"

Itachi rolled his eyes and snorted. "No, he's talking about Deidara's friend. That friend is also Akihito's godfather, but he seems to prefer thinking of him as a brother."

"Yes, I saw it, Akihito," Deidara spoke good-naturedly. The sound of a zipper being pulled down rang through the hallway.

"Do you think that nii-san will give the painting to me?" Akihito asked hopefully and soon the pitter-patter sound of his feet could be heard approaching the kitchen.

Deidara hummed. "Maybe if you're good and ask nicely, he'll give it to you."

"I'm always good!" Akihito protested fiercely, making Sasuke snort silently.

The young boy seemed to have conveniently forgotten all the times that he had acted out, more than once resulting in being put in the corner for a time out.

Sasuke barely had time to put his cup on the table when a high pitched squeal of excitement tore through the kitchen and a small mass flew right around his waist, squirming so that it could sit on his lap.

"Hello to you too, brat," Sasuke spoke dryly and shifted around in his chair, grabbing Akihito underneath his armpits to hoist him up and settle him better on his lap.

Two small, chubby arms came around his neck to hug him tightly. "You came, Sasuke-ji-san!" Akihito grinned brightly; his dark blue eyes sparkling in the harsh kitchen light.

"I promised your dad I would," Sasuke murmured and Deidara grinned in response; his blue eyes softening for a short moment. It was obvious from whom Akihito had inherited his smile.

"Are you staying for dinner, Sasuke-kun?" Deidara asked curiously and opened the deep-freezer, presumably to choose some vegetable for dinner.

"I don't think it's …" He grunted in pain when he was sharply kicked against his ankle and he glared at his brother, who took an innocent sip of his tea. "I suppose I could stay," he begrudgingly answered and winced when Akihito let out an excited squeal right in his ear.

"Sasuke-jisan, you need to see the picture nii-san gave me two weeks ago!" Akihito rambled excitedly and jumped off his lap, grabbing his hand to pull him along.

Realising he wouldn't be out of this house any time soon, he resigned himself to his fate and mustered up a smile. "All right, show me this picture."

He completely ignored the meaningful looks his brother traded with Deidara when he let himself be pulled along by the young boy.

* * *

The weather hadn't looked that inviting when Sasuke had woken up on the twenty-sixth of November, but he hadn't expected the heavy down pour that fell over the town in the afternoon. The weather people really didn't know what the hell they were talking about.

"Oh my, that doesn't look very good," Yamanaka murmured with a grimace when she looked out of the window. Her long, blonde hair swished across her back when she leant forwards; her light blue eyes shining with disappointment.

"You can never trust the weather," Sasuke said idly, after throwing a quick glance out of the window. At least he had had the foresight to bring an umbrella with him, though he doubted it would keep raining the entire day.

"Good thing I called my husband to pick me up," Yamanaka mumbled, mostly to herself, and then directed a beautiful smile at the doctor. "Thank you for the check-up, Uchiha-sensei."

"Take good care of yourself, Yamanaka-san," Sasuke retorted benignantly and shook her hand; feeling the warm metal of her wedding ring against his own fingers.

When the door closed behind the Beta woman, he groaned softly and stretched, feeling and hearing the bones in his back pop. He stretched out his arms, shaking out the lingering ache in his wrists and stared blankly at his computer screen. The day seemed to stretch on and on and he wondered whether that was because of the dreary weather.

Flipping open his diary, he looked through the list of appointments his secretary had set up for today. A slim eyebrow rose up when he encountered a new name. One Uzumaki Naruto had an appointment with him at three forty-five. He wondered what the reason of this man was to visit him. Was he pregnant and in need of a doctor? Was this his first time visiting a doctor like Sasuke?

Pressing his tongue against his teeth, he stood up and walked over to the small table, where Karin put all the files regarding his patients of that day. Flipping through the various files, he picked out a dark blue one labelled 'Uzumaki Naruto' and opened it, briefly glancing through it. When new patients made an appointment, they first had to fill in several forms – a way to provide Sasuke with all the necessary information.

This Uzumaki was an Omega and had just turned twenty-six years old on the tenth of October; he was of average height and build. In fact he was slightly shorter than Sasuke. His file revealed that he had a partner, but it didn't specify whether that partner was an Alpha or a Beta. There was always that small chance that he could be together with an Omega, but those type of relationships occurred very rarely; especially if they wanted children. An Omega who wanted to have children still preferred to have an Alpha or a Beta father them; a remnant of the old times where an Omega sought out strong mates to protect themselves and their children.

Instincts were hard to kill after all.

Looking at his watch, he saw that he had only two more minutes before the new patient was supposed to arrive, so he brought the file to his desk and made sure he kept a pen near it, in order to add his own notes to the paper.

He took a quick bathroom break and drank some of the bottled water he kept near his desk. Feeling slightly more refreshed, he decided to check whether Uzumaki had arrived already or not. He hoped he was punctual; one of the qualities in people that Sasuke couldn't tolerate was tardiness.

His coat made a rustling sound when he walked over to the door and after rolling his shoulders once more, he turned the door knob and opened it, catching a glimpse of a sneaker clad shoe hovering above the carpeted floor.

"Uzumaki-san? I'm ready to see you now," Sasuke announced calmly and stepped in his doorway, noticing a blond man standing in front of the window.

With his next intake of oxygen, he stiffened and stared wide eyed at the blond man, who carried the look of a deer caught in the headlights rather well. An incredibly sweet scent filled the air, surrounding him, drowning him in it. Normally he wasn't fond of sweets, preferring to not eat them, but this time he couldn't help but inhale deeply again, allowing the tantalizing scent to penetrate his nostrils once again. It was the sweet scent of an Omega, tinted by a peculiar spiciness that made his mouth water. His heart beat quickened almost unnoticeably and the Alpha inside of him reared his head, woken up by the alluring scent of a vulnerable Omega in front of him.

_A vulnerable, Unmarked Omega._

The Alpha in him snarled in satisfaction and sent him a mental image of the blond, spread out on his bed like an offer to the gods; his deep blue eyes shining with unshed tears of pleasure.

Even his ex-girlfriend had never managed to awaken his Alpha side like that; not even in the beginning when they first met. Not even when she had tried her hardest to entice him and convince him to Mark her.

When Sasuke became fully aware of his surroundings again, after being lulled into a daze by the alluring, mysterious scent that seemed to be wafting off the smaller, incredibly attractive Omega, he cursed inwardly when he realised that his hands were already reaching out to grab the blond man and press him against the window to do some very unspeakable acts to him.

 _Fuck, what the hell was wrong with him?_ He had never reacted this badly towards an Omega before and he had met some very attractive Omega in his life – Itachi's mate included.

Shaking his head roughly to dispel the daze, he finally took notice of how the blond stood in front of him and he furrowed his eyebrows.

The deep blue eyes – which stood out vividly against the beautiful tanned skin – were wide and staring at him as if the blond man himself was dazed; the three whisker like scars on each cheek provided a sharp contrast with his darker skin tone. He looked on the verge of doubling over and Sasuke worried about that; he couldn't have his new patient fainting already.

Careful not to startle Uzumaki too much, he put his hand lightly on his shoulder – feeling the firm muscles underneath the wet jacket – and squeezed softly.

"Uzumaki-san, are you feeling all right?" Sasuke asked concerned and narrowed his eyes slightly, wondering whether he needed to call Karin over and let her bring a bottle of cola.

Uzumaki jolted underneath his soft touch and Sasuke quickly, but strangely reluctant, removed his hand. The blond man nodded slowly. "I'm fine," he smiled feebly and he shook his head, looking a bit embarrassed.

Deciding that it was in their best interest to act as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened – and it hadn't, right? He had just been caught off guard by the strong scent being emanated by the Omega – Sasuke turned out, clearing his throat, and said, "Follow me then."

He heard Uzumaki following right behind him, his shoes making an odd squish sound against the tiled floor, and the door fell shut behind them.

"Have a seat." Sasuke waved at the two chairs in front of his desk and sat down in his large, leather chair; the familiar comfort of his chair distracted him a bit from the mysterious, strong scent which had started to permeate the air in his office. Damn, he would need to open a window after this visit was over if he wanted to have even the slightest chance of continuing with his work undistracted.

Looking somewhat helpless – causing the Alpha in Sasuke to purr contently and him to clench his teeth – Uzumaki sank down on the chair, which creaked softly underneath his weight. Slender fingers started fiddling with the zipper of his wet jacket.

"So, Uzumaki-san, is this your first time seeing a doctor for this particular issue?" Sasuke started, reminding himself sternly to remain professional – _he was a patient_ , for fuck's sake – and opened the file he had placed on his desk. He skipped the basic information for the moment and turned the page to discover who Uzumaki's previous doctor had been. He couldn't help but arch his eyebrow in surprise when he saw that the information regarding the former doctor had been left blank.

_Huh, well, that was quite unexpected._

No doctor at all? Or had the blond forgotten to fill in that particular part of the papers? It wouldn't be the first time that a new patient forgot to fill in something, because they had either been distracted or feeling nervous at the prospect of going on a consultation with a gynaecologist.

"Yes," Uzumaki confirmed and involuntarily Sasuke took notice of how his hands clenched into his wet jeans, which were moulded perfectly to his firm thighs.

 _Stay professional_ , Sasuke chanted to himself silently and resisted the urge to scowl. "I notice that the information regarding your previous doctor was left blank. Who was your previous doctor?" he inquired; his pen was already hovering above the paper, reading to write down the information.

"Eh, I don't have one," Uzumaki admitted sheepishly and he rubbed the back of his neck.

Confusion spiked up in Sasuke and he canted his head a bit, wondering how it was possible that Uzumaki didn't have one. Or did he just mean that he didn't have a regular one? Sasuke had had patients before who didn't have any preference in doctors and just visited the one who was available at the time they were ill.

Sasuke decided to reformulate his question to be clearer. "Who do you visit when you are ill?"

To his surprise, Uzumaki replied, "No one in particular. I don't get sick easily."

Sasuke couldn't help but stare at the blond man, rendered speechless, before he snorted. "You're one of the lucky few then," he remarked dryly.

Uzumaki offered him a crooked smile in response.

Sasuke decided to get to the point of this visit. "Tell me exactly why you need my help."

Uzumaki's smile disappeared like snow underneath the sun and Sasuke caught himself before he could start berating himself for causing that smile to disappear. Shit, he needed a stiff drink tonight. Maybe letting his head be examined would be a good idea as well.

The drink was less time consuming, though.

"My partner and I are trying to conceive, but so far we haven't succeeded," Uzumaki explained; a red flush of shame coloured his cheeks.

It was obvious that he didn't like admitting this particular fact. Hell, not many Omega would like to admit that they had trouble conceiving.

Did Uzumaki really have cause for worry or was he just panicking because he wasn't pregnant after a week of trying? Sasuke had dealt with Omega before, who became hysterical because they hadn't conceived after barely a week of trying. Society still had certain expectations of Omega, despite all the modernization, and those often had a negative effect on Omega, making them more insecure and worried than they needed to be.

Still, Uzumaki couldn't have been trying for that long. Sasuke didn't smell any suppressants on him – those added an odd, chemical component to the regular scent of the person taking them – so that meant he had been trying for a little while already. The effects of the suppressants were always quickly flushed out of the person's system if they didn't take it for at least two days.

"Hm. How long have you been trying?"

Standard question.

"Four months."

That … was _not_ the standard answer. Sasuke stilled and studied Uzumaki intently, causing the blond to squirm a bit under his scrutiny. "How long have you been taking the suppressants?" he continued his questions, not allowing the Omega to see how startled he had been at the rather abnormal answer. There was no need to worry him. He already looked quite anxious.

"Almost fourteen years," Uzumaki answered softly and he lowered his eyes, sounding quite embarrassed.

Well, that was a long time to take them, the doctor had to admit silently.

"How long have you and your mate been married?" Sasuke asked, jotting down Uzumaki's replies. The question slipped out automatically; his brain barely registering the question after asking so many of his patients that particular inquiry.

"Oh, I'm not married," Uzumaki replied to Sasuke's great surprise and he looked quite flustered.

Dark eyes quickly flitted towards Uzumaki's ring finger and only now did the dark haired man notice that his finger was bare. Damn, usually he was better in picking up on details.

That should teach him for having the assumption that all Omega who tried to conceive were married. Although, in his defence, so far all the Omega in his practice had been married or at the very least had been engaged.

"My apologies for the assumption," Sasuke murmured, quickly composing himself. "How long have you been together with him?"

"Nearly five years."

Huh, quite a long time to go without being engaged at the very least. Sasuke caught himself wondering in the back of his mind whether Uzumaki was the one stopping the couple from getting married.

"Is he Alpha or Beta?" Sometimes the nature of a person could have an influence on the conceiving process. Bar some exceptions, Alpha tended to have more success in impregnating their partner than Beta. At least most Alpha needed to spend less time trying with their mate than most Beta. It had something to do with the way their DNA was wired.

"An Alpha."

Sasuke hummed thoughtfully; all right, so that couldn't be a possible reason as to why it was taking the couple such a long time to conceive. That idea could be thrown out of the window. "Have you ever taken any form of drugs?"

Aside from the nature of the partner, drugs tended to have quite a big influence on the conceiving process as well – albeit a very negative one.

"If coffee counts, yes. Otherwise no."

His lips quirked up quickly in an amused smirk at the quip of the Omega. "Do you smoke?"

"No. Never tried it either."

"How is your alcohol intake?" A person who was regularly smashed would have more trouble conceiving a baby.

"Only a couple of beers throughout the month, but no more than that."

"Ever been in an accident?" If his stomach area had been damaged, that would certainly provide a challenge to get pregnant. In that case, Sasuke would have to refer him to Yakushi, who was specialized in restoring damage to the stomach area.

"When I was seven, some windows broke when I was near them and left me with the scars on my face, but other than that, no."

Sasuke closed the file after writing down the last reply and clasped his hands together on top of it. A frown marred his forehead. "Based on the information you have given, there should be no reason why you cannot conceive. I am honestly a bit baffled that it is taking you so long," he admitted honestly and that admittance left a sour note behind. Until now he had always immediately known what was wrong with his patient.

It was starting to bug him to no end that he couldn't immediately figure out what was keeping the Omega from having a baby.

Uzumaki's face dropped. "I – I was thinking that it had something to do with how long I've been taking the pills," he said, visibly uncomfortable.

"I have never heard of such a side effect, but to be certain I'm going to take some of your blood to have it examined. If there are still traces left behind from the pills, I'll prescribe you something that will flush them from your system," Sasuke stated calmly and stood up to retrieve his equipment. He honestly doubted that the suppressants would have such a detrimental effect, but it was better to be safe than sorry. After all, Uzumaki was one of the very few who had been taking those pills for such a long time.

Who knew? Maybe the suppressants did have a negative effect on the fertility if they were taking for a too long time. In that case he would have to mention that to Orochimaru, who was the head of the department specialising in the creation of the suppressants. His former mentor would be interested in hearing that.

"Roll up your sleeve," Sasuke instructed and approached the blond, while preparing the needle carefully.

Uzumaki nodded mutely and bared his right arm, holding it up.

Sasuke searched for a good vein by tapping Uzumaki's arm gently and carefully inserted the needle once he had found a vein. He couldn't keep his lips from twitching in a faint smile when Uzumaki hissed at the sting of the needle piercing through his skin. It made the blond huff in annoyance and turn away.

Sasuke had to resist the odd urge to chuckle at the petulant reaction.

After he was done filling three tubes with Uzumaki's blood – the blond kept his face turned away the entire time – Sasuke measured his height and weight as well.

While Uzumaki pulled on his shoes, Sasuke stacked the tubes in their specific holder, so that he could send it to the lab today.

"Uzumaki-san, as soon as your blood results are ready, you'll be notified and you'll need to make a new appointment," he informed the Omega while he filled in the needed paperwork. "Depending on the results, we'll decide how to proceed then."

"Okay." Uzumaki nodded and his fingers twitched in his wide sleeves. He had a dubious look on his face and his mood seemed to have steadily grown worse.

Sasuke clucked his tongue and a smirk unfolded on his face. "I've never been beaten by a challenge, Uzumaki-san, and I'm not planning on letting that happen any time soon. I'll figure out what's keeping you from conceiving. In the meantime, just continue trying."

The Alpha inside of him seemed to disagree with that advice; it snarled in anger, not wanting the beautiful Omega around another Alpha.

Sasuke hoped that particular odd sentiment hadn't shone through in his eyes. He really needed to get a hold on himself.

Uzumaki must have noticed something, because his cheeks flared up in a beautiful red colour and he stammered out a goodbye before he quickly departed after swiftly handing over his payment; taking his sweet scent with him.

As soon as the door clicked close behind that perky arse, Sasuke groaned out loud in dismay and rubbed his hands harshly over his face.

God damn it, something seriously was wrong with him today. Maybe he should lessen his workload a bit, like Itachi instructed him to do so, if he could be so easily influenced by an Omega's scent.

He forced himself to open up the window, letting the smell of the rain chase away any lingering remnants of Uzumaki's scent, and didn't acknowledge the small part in him that pouted about the loss of the delicious scent.

He just wasn't used to such strong scents; it would get better once he saw Uzumaki again, he reassured himself. Uzumaki's strong scent just had him caught off guard, because not many Omega tended to have such strong scents.

Maybe he should go out again, meet some new people.

He snorted out loud and shook his head, instantly dismissing the idea. He wasn't the social type and he couldn't stand the rowdy people in the clubs. Chances were higher that he would punch someone in the face for being damned annoying than that he would find someone.

No, he would just go home earlier tonight, enjoy a glass of good wine and read a book.

His spirits lifted a bit, he returned to his desk and grabbed the vials. He would ask Karin to send them to the lab and then he would prepare himself for his next patient.

* * *

By the time he was talking to his next patient, the rain had stopped and a very thin ray of weak sunlight fought its way through the heavy clouds.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: I am overwhelmed at the reviews I've got so far for this story! I had never expected so many positive comments and I can only thank you for your support and hope I won't disappoint with my future chapters. Seriously, guys, I really appreciate your comments! Especially with how tiring and awful my exams have been so far. And I'm really happy to see so many of my regular reviewers again!
> 
> Thank you for the kudos and the comments!
> 
> Warnings: foul language; liberties taken with medical procedure; possessiveAlpha teetering on dark; slight angst
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto owns it.
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy this second chapter!
> 
> Please leave your thoughts behind in a review! Should you spot any mistake, please point them out to me.
> 
> Once more you'll have to wait two weeks for the third chapter, but after that it should return to a more regular schedule.
> 
> See you all in two weeks!

_Chapter 2_

The results of Uzumaki's blood were sent to him two days after he had ordered Karin to send the vials to the lab. He let his secretary know that she should notify Uzumaki and make a new appointment with him – all the while ignoring how she tried to flirt with him. Despite the cold weather, the V-neck of her shirts seemed to grow deeper with every week that passed.

If she wasn't such a good secretary, he would have kicked her out a long time ago.

On Saturday Deidara had somehow managed to cajole him into visiting their house again. He was becoming quite concerned at how easily the blond Omega seemed to sway him.

"Where's the bastard?" he asked in greeting when he walked into the kitchen and had taken notice of the fact that his dear brother wasn't present.

Such a shame.

Deidara looked up amused from the dough he was kneading. Patches of flour decorated his black apron. "If you're talking about Itachi, he was called away to the office. It seems that one of his employees was caught trying to transfer secret documents to a rival company."

Sasuke blinked and sat down, hanging his jacket on the chair. "That employee will be lucky if he only gets fired," he murmured. If there was one thing Uchiha didn't take lightly, it was betrayal. Of any kind.

That employee had signed his own death certificate so to speak.

"Did Mikoto-san call you for the party?" Deidara asked and stepped back from the counter, blowing a stray hair out of his face.

"What are you making?" Sasuke wrinkled his nose and shook his head in irritation. "Yes, mother called me. That's a stupid question. She's been nagging at me to attend the party this year."

"I'm making croissants," his brother-in-law informed him and clucked his tongue, looking at Sasuke disapprovingly. "You really should attend; it's been a couple of years since we last saw you."

"Yeah, yeah," Sasuke muttered. He wasn't interested in spending an entire day with his family, tolerating his mother's worried nagging and his father's disapproving looks whenever his job was mentioned in any form. His father would never let go of his dream to have both of his sons working in the family's company.

Deidara rubbed his flour covered hands over his apron, which clearly displayed the roundness of his belly, and sighed. "You know your mother is only worried about you."

"Yes, and my father is a dick," Sasuke deadpanned. "Now that we have got those facts in the open, can we talk about something else?"

"Fine." Deidara scowled at him and walked – almost waddled – over to him, sitting down across from him at the table. "God, my ankles are killing me," he groaned and stretched his legs out.

"What? Itachi isn't doing his husband duties? He should be ashamed," the dark haired man quipped and ducked when the blond threw a pen at his head.

"Itachi is wonderful, but there is only so much he can help me with," Deidara sighed, folding his arms over his belly.

"Do you have a name in mind already?" Sasuke asked interested and grabbed a biscuit from the tray near him.

Deidara's cookies were one of the very few sweets he was willing to tolerate.

"Itachi chose the name the first time, so now I get to choose the name," Deidara replied with a wicked gleam in his eyes. "I've decided to call him Shion."

Sasuke stared at him as if he had grown a second head. "That's a girl's name," he remarked blankly.

"Who cares about that?" Deidara waved his hand dismissively. "I like the meaning of the flower he'll be named after."

"Which is?" Sasuke asked warily and wondered whether Itachi had been informed about the name already.

"'I won't forget you' or 'remembrance'," Deidara answered and his eyes gained a distant sheen. "A tribute to my mother. She loved that flower and she would have loved seeing her grandchildren."

Sasuke kept quiet; six years ago Deidara's mother had died after being bedridden for a very long time. Before she died, Deidara had been able to tell her she would become a grandmother soon, but unfortunately the illness had taken over her entire body and she had departed from the earth before she could see her first grandchild.

"I'm certain she would have appreciated it," he finally broke the silence awkwardly. Shit, he really didn't have any experience dealing with this sort of things. How did other people do it? Was it a general, inborn skill he somehow had missed out on when he was born, or was it something people learnt by hanging around others? If so, he was screwed for life, because he wasn't exactly a person of a sociable nature.

"Thank you," Deidara smiled genuinely and Sasuke breathed out in relief. At least he hadn't fucked this up.

The blond hesitated visibly, before he asked softly, "Has Hozuki-san any information about your case, un?"

Well, it had taken him quite some time to ask about it, Sasuke grudgingly admitted to himself. "He called me a couple of weeks ago," he replied and tapped with his fingers on the table. "He managed to convince her not to contact me ever again."

"Do you think she'll obey that request?" Deidara pursed his lips, obviously not having much trust in Suigetsu's abilities to convince someone.

Well, the Alpha couldn't really blame him for that.

"I don't think he formulated it like a request to be honest," Sasuke retorted dryly and raked a hand through his inky blue black hair. "And though she could be quite stupid at times, I doubt even she missed the implied threat in his conversation with her."

"Well, at least she finally stopped bothering you, un," Deidara sighed and drew a circle on the table. "Though maybe if you had let Itachi handle it, it wouldn't have taken years for that wench to get it through her skull that you aren't interested anymore."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at hearing that particular foul word escape the kind hearted blond, but didn't remark on it. Instead he said, "What? And owe that bastard a favour? Like hell I would. Owing Itachi a favour is a dangerous thing."

"Now you're over exaggerating," the Omega scolded him.

"The last time I owed him a favour, he ruined my favourite clothes," Sasuke deadpanned and grimaced when that particular memory was brought back to the front of his mind. It had been one of the times when he had genuinely thought he would have feared Itachi if he hadn't known him for his whole life.

"How did he ruin your favourite clothes, un?" Deidara questioned nonplussed, cocking his head to the right.

"You don't want to know, trust me," the dark haired man replied darkly.

Deidara clapped his hands. "In that case, put on an apron and help me make croissants, un," he declared cheerfully.

"Seriously? Because I don't want to answer one question, you're going to make me help you?" Sasuke complained. "I thought I was your guest? Guests don't need to help."

The sharp smile that suddenly appeared on Deidara's face made him stiffen in wariness. "Sasuke-kun, my dear brother-in-law," he murmured and patted Sasuke's hand softly. "Surely you're not going to let me, being seven months pregnant and all, work alone on the croissants? Itachi asked me not to do too much, but I really want to surprise him with chocolate croissants, un. You're going to help me, right?" The otherwise gentle, baby blue eyes flashed up dangerously, reminding Sasuke of the fact that, though Itachi could be quite scary if he wanted to, ultimately it was Deidara they had to be cautious of.

Holding back the shudder that wanted to escape him, he forced himself to smile and quickly retracted his hand. "Why not? Everything for my brother-in-law and my brother, after all."

The dangerous glint in Deidara's eyes evaporated like smoke and the bright grin on his face at Sasuke's acquiescent reply was nearly blinding. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun! Here, you can borrow one of these aprons, un," he practically chirped and handed a plain, black one to the Alpha.

 _Well, at least it isn't that ridiculous bright orange one_ , Sasuke thought with a soft sigh and tied the apron around himself. He followed Deidara back to the counter and listened to his instructions how to knead the dough in the forms they wanted.

God, the things he did for his family.

* * *

One week after he had first laid eye on the alluring blond, Uzumaki was seated in front of him again, ready to hear the results of his blood tests. Before the blond Omega had entered the room, Sasuke had cracked a window open slightly in a vain attempt to decrease the heavy scent in the air.

No such luck there. He would just have to learn to deal with it, he supposed. Which was easier said than done.

"I have your results here," Sasuke started calmly and tapped on the page which contained the charts and the number combinations displaying the levels of every component in the blood.

"What does it say?" Uzumaki asked nervously. His fingers were playing with the tassels of his bright orange scarf. How anyone could wear a clothing item of such a bright colour was a mystery to the Alpha. A quick glance at the Omega's hands revealed that there were some splatters of purple paint decorating his knuckles. In the back of Sasuke's mind, he wondered what kind of job Uzumaki had.

"Your blood does not contain any traces of the suppressants and the rest of your vitals are fine as well. No cause for concern there," Sasuke replied and placed the results back into Uzumaki's file. It wouldn't do to have them get lost.

Usually his patients tended to be quite relieved when he told them that their vitals were perfect – Uzumaki proved to be the exception to that rule. Instead of being reassured, the blond man slumped back into his chair with a sigh of defeat. "So, it's not a side effect from the pills," he muttered disappointed.

 _Ah_ , Sasuke realised silently while he studied the disappointed Omega, _he had hoped that his issue was caused by the remnants of the suppressants in his blood_. It made sense after he pondered about that; if the remnants were causing the problem, Sasuke could have described a medicine to flush Uzumaki's system. But with that possible cause ruled out, it was much harder to pinpoint what exactly was wrong.

Another possible cause could be physical. Sasuke had a feeling the blond wouldn't like what he would say next.

"Now that we have ruled out the possible side effects of your pill, we will need to research something else that could be the cause of your issue," Sasuke called Uzumaki back out of his thoughts.

He received a wary look in reply to his remark. "What?"

"In some cases, problems with conceiving can arise, because the entrance to the womb is too narrow or too hidden," Sasuke explained and retrieved a chart from the first drawer of his desk, which detailed the productive system of an Omega. It was a chart every doctor had in his office; most of the time it wasn't needed during consultations, but every once in a while, like now, the chart was needed to explain something to the patient. Placing the chart on the desk, he pushed it a bit towards Uzumaki and tapped on it. "You know how your womb is partly connected to your rectum, right?"

Uzumaki nodded and his cheeks gained a red flush; obviously he didn't feel particularly comfortable discussing this with Sasuke.

Ignoring the irritating voice in the back of his mind that wondered how far a blush would stretch on Uzumaki's body, he continued, "In some Omega, the connection is too narrow or simply hidden which creates difficulties for the seed to succeed in impregnating the Omega." He looked at the blond apologetically. "I realise you may not like this, but I want to perform a check-up to see whether your issue is caused due to physical problems."

Uzumaki seemed to realise what the check-up would entail, because the flush on his cheeks deepened and he looked highly uncomfortable. No Omega liked to be intimately touched by someone who wasn't their mate, and while Sasuke understood that dislike, Uzumaki didn't have a choice. If the problem was physical, he could only discover that through an examination. A scan would not be detailed enough for it.

Sasuke stood up and hoped that if Uzumaki saw how calm and unaffected he remained – _that was a goddamn lie, and you know it, Uchiha. You know you're affected, don't try to deny it_ , … Ruthlessly he shut up the dark voice muttering in the back of his mind – that the blond would remain calm as well. The last thing they needed was a spooked Omega.

Uzumaki followed him to the large privacy screen near the back of the room where Sasuke handed him a lime green hospital gown to make the access for the examination easier.

"Pull this on and leave your clothes here," Sasuke instructed and left to give the blue eyed man his privacy.

Trying to occupy himself while waiting for Uzumaki to finish changing, he looked through the file of his next patient. However, his attention was quickly derailed from it when his ears picked up the faint sound of clothes rustling and he clenched his hand into a fist next to his side. The thought that the Omega would be completely naked underneath that flimsy gown soon made the Alpha inside of him salivate with desire and the being offered him image after image of what he could do with the blond as soon as he appeared again.

It made him shut his eyes tightly and slowly count to ten to calm himself down. He really didn't know why the Alpha inside of him insisted on rearing its head near the blond Omega, but he couldn't have him take over and attack the poor blond. That just couldn't happen.

Soon – too soon – the padding of bare feet on the floor echoed through the room and when he turned around to face the blond, the Omega was rocking back and forth on his heels, visibly nervous.

The Alpha purred contently.

Sasuke nodded, mainly to force himself to focus on the issue on hand, and pulled on a pair of thin, plastic gloves. "Uzumaki-san, please place your hands on the bed, lean forwards and spread your legs a bit," he said and was relieved to hear that he managed to sound calm and detached with a soothing undertone.

It looked as if Uzumaki was about to protest, but he simply turned around stiffly, walked over to the bed and leant forwards. As soon as his hands were steady on the bed, he spread his legs a little and the gown allowed his buttocks to peek out from between the flimsy cloth.

Slowly Sasuke approached him after squirting a dollop of clear lubrication gel on his fingers and noticed how with every step he took, the blond seemed to tense up more. "Try to relax as much as possible," he murmured once he halted right behind Uzumaki.

Briefly he rubbed his fingers together to warm up the gel – there was no need to make it even more uncomfortable by having the gel remain cold – and then slowly brought the slick finger between Uzumaki's buttocks, breaching him carefully. No matter how slow and careful he was, Uzumaki tensed up considerably, forcing the dark haired man to pause his ministrations to avoid hurting the blond.

"Sorry," Uzumaki hissed and his breathing sounded shallow when he tried to relax his inner muscles.

"It's okay; just try not to tense up. It won't take long," Sasuke reassured the blond and in a split second, he made the decision to place his hand on Uzumaki's lower back, feeling the blond flex his back muscles in surprise. He hoped that the warmth of his hand would aid in relaxing the Omega.

Uzumaki breathed out slowly and he only tensed up slightly when Sasuke fit a second finger in with the first.

"That's right; just relax," Sasuke murmured soothingly and he saw Uzumaki's fingers flexing on the bed when he slid deeper with his gloved fingers. The muscles still twitched as if they wanted to reject him, but the blond wasn't that tense anymore to the point where Sasuke couldn't move his fingers.

While he tried to find the opening to Naruto's womb, he became slowly aware of an odd, alluring smell that was rising up around them. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion and he wondered what the source of that peculiar scent could be. He thought he had smelt it before, but …

At the same time he had managed to locate the opening – finding no clear obstructions blocking the entrance – he heard Uzumaki hiss in discomfort, but simultaneously arch his back as well … as if he was offering himself up to Sasuke, begging him to take him.

 _Go on_ , the Alpha whispered in his mind and he could easily imagine the satisfied, dark grin that spread out on the being's face. _You know you want to. He wouldn't feel forced; can't you smell that? He wants to be taken, to be mated. He's ready for it. All you need to do, is …_

Sasuke pulled back abruptly and the voice quietened down as he hastily took a couple of steps back, feeling quite disorientated.

"It appears that nothing is obstructing the opening to the womb," he declared briskly and hastily removed the gloves; they gave off a sharp 'smack!'. "You can change back."

Uzumaki looked absolutely mortified as he practically fled behind the screen again.

Sasuke had hoped that with the disposal of the gloves in the closed off garbage can the delicious scent would disappear, but naturally he would not have that luck. He finally knew what that particular scent was – or actually, how close it came to the scent he knew, because there were certain components to this particular scent of which he didn't know the meaning. The scent that had been rising up around them was the scent of an aroused Omega.

Swallowing harshly, he sat down behind his desk again and wrote down his observations in Uzumaki's file. He supposed it wasn't that odd for the blond to become slightly aroused; the dark haired man was fairly certain that he had accidentally skimmed the prostate while he was searching for the opening and which man wouldn't react to that? Omega were even more sensitive to that stimulation.

Shaking his head to clear it, he jotted down some more notes when he became aware of the fact that Uzumaki had dressed himself again and was on his way back to the desk. Uzumaki sat down and met his eyes completely, the intense sapphire blue examining him intently, though he seemed to shiver for some reason. Sasuke wondered whether he was cold and then wondered why those blue eyes grabbed his attention so easily.

"Well, so far all the tests have proven that you are capable of carrying a child," Sasuke remarked thoughtfully and tapped his pen against the first sheet of paper that made up the file. "I'm going to give you a prescription for a hormone treatment. Maybe your hormones need a bit more help. You need to take these pills for a month. After that month, should you still not be carrying, we'll figure out something else."

"Thank you," Uzumaki muttered and reached out to accept the prescription Sasuke had written while he was still changing his clothes.

As soon as their fingers touched briefly, a spark of electricity made them both jolt and Uzumaki pulled back with an alarmed face.

"Must be static electricity," Sasuke smiled faintly, though he doubted his own words.

Uzumaki's smile was rather weak when he answered, "Must be." His tone gave away that he didn't quite believe Sasuke.

The dark haired man couldn't fault him for that, though. Since when had static electricity felt this strong?

* * *

The Uchiha family was quite a large one and because most people had plans with their own family during Christmas, the official Christmas party of the family was hosted a week after Christmas, to ensure both friends and family could be present.

Sasuke had no family of his own to celebrate Christmas with; he could visit his parents, he supposed, but though his mother was still the same sweet woman who adored her sons, his father soured the festivities by delivering cutting remarks about Sasuke's choice of job. The older man would probably never let go of his dream to have both his sons working in the Uchiha corporation and he never missed an opportunity to inform Sasuke about how much of a disappointment he was and how he should have followed his brother's path instead of veering off and creating one of his own.

Sasuke had got used to these cutting snide remarks, but still, he wasn't about to subject himself to his father's rants if he could avoid them. He had no desire to ruin Christmas for his mother, just because his father couldn't keep his comments to himself.

So when Christmas arrived, he called his mother to wish her a Merry Christmas, danced around the subject of him attending the Uchiha party next week and then changed into a cashmere sweater and dark jeans, grabbing three colourfully wrapped packages from the kitchen table on his way to his car. He might not want to spend Christmas with his parents, but he did not have the same reservations about his brother and his family. It had become a tradition of sorts that Sasuke would spend Christmas with Itachi, Deidara and their son; not initially his choice, but Itachi's threat of kidnapping him and tying him to a chair to force him to spend the holiday with him was just a tad too realistic to ignore.

A small part in him admitted that he liked being wanted; deep inside he probably would never grow out of the childish desire to be acknowledged by his big brother.

Itachi opened the door with a smirk. "I'm glad that you showed up," he said and stepped aside to let the younger man enter.

"As if you ever gave me a choice," Sasuke snorted and roughly pushed the presents against Itachi's chest, forcing the man to open his arms or risk letting the packages drop on the floor. "Here, take this to that ugly thing you dare to call a Christmas tree."

"Don't let Akihito hear you say that; he'll be most upset that you insulted his work," Itachi warned him and walked to the living room to drop off the presents, while Sasuke removed his jacket and hung it up on a metal hook next to a long, narrow mirror.

He had just enough time to remove his shoes and put on the house slippers when an excited squeal tore through the air, making him wince, and the next moment his nephew flew around his waist, hugging him tightly.

"Merry Christmas, Sasuke-jisan!" Akihito looked up at him with a beaming face; his dark eyes glittering madly.

It looked like someone had got his hands on the sugar stash.

"Merry Christmas, brat," Sasuke retorted and ruffled through the dark hair quickly before carefully detaching himself from the firm grip.

Akihito canted his neck to look around Sasuke and threw him a questioning look. "Where are the presents?" he asked with wide eyes.

For one short moment Sasuke was very tempted to say that he hadn't bought any, but the possible tantrum that would ensue was not worth the short moment of teasing. "Your father put them underneath the tree," he replied instead and to his amusement a conflicted look appeared on his nephew's face.

On the one hand he seemed relieved to hear that his uncle hadn't forgotten the presents, but on the other hand he had probably hoped on slipping away with it and opening it before it was officially time to open the presents.

Sasuke did not feel sorry at all for foiling his plan.

"Sasuke-kun?" Deidara walked into the hallway and smiled upon seeing the dark haired man lingering near the front door. "Merry Christmas, un. I'm glad you could make it."

"Not like I had much choice," Sasuke grunted and tolerated the hug the blond bestowed upon him, careful not to bump against his large belly.

Deidara rolled his eyes and swatted his arm. "Don't deny you like visiting us for Christmas," he chided him and then shepherded Akihito out of the hallway to the kitchen, before the boy could even ponder about sneaking into the living room. "Itachi is in the living room. Why don't you join him while I finish up lunch?"

"Don't you need my help?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but look dubiously at Deidara's stomach. The frail looking blond looked like he could topple over any moment.

The Omega huffed and planted his hands on his hips, glowering at him. "This is not my first time being pregnant," he reminded his brother-in-law. "I can handle finishing lunch, trust me."

"If you say so," Sasuke muttered and then decided it was best to join his brother, lest Deidara became irritated.

The blond Omega might not have severe mood swings like some other Omega were prone to have during pregnancy, but that didn't make it a wise idea to annoy him.

Itachi looked up from one of his work related documents when Sasuke entered the room and raised an eyebrow. "Glass of wine?" he suggested and nodded towards his own glass of red wine on the table.

"Sure, why not?" Sasuke sighed and sat down on the couch, glancing disinterested at the document. It seemed to be detailing some kind of transfer of goods. "Thanks," he mumbled and accepted the glass filled with the ruby red wine.

"I'm surprised you're out here instead of helping your mate in the kitchen," he remarked offhandedly after a bout of silence.

An amused huff escaped his brother while he circled something on the page. "The kitchen is Deidara's domain; if he's cooking, I'm not allowed to be there unless he specifically asks for my help," he replied dryly.

"Huh," Sasuke muttered blankly and took a sip of his wine, idly wondering what they would have for lunch. So far Deidara had made a new menu every year; traditions seemed to be appreciated except when it came to food apparently.

He was startled out of his thoughts when his brother murmured, "Mother told me you have been ignoring her requests of attending the party this year."

And of course their mother had to drag Itachi into this. Sasuke scowled into his glass and his grip tightened around it for a fraction. "I don't understand why she keeps asking. My answer remains the same every year; I'm not in the mood to tolerate father's bullshit."

Itachi sighed and put the documents into his briefcase, closing it with a quiet 'snap'. He removed his reading glasses and rubbed a hand over his eyes.

Just when Sasuke started to relax again in the assumption that Itachi wouldn't continue this particular conversation, the older man said, "I know our father can act like a bastard, but are you seriously not going to attend the party, because of the small possibility that he won't keep his mouth shut?" The tone of disapproval was strong.

Unconsciously Sasuke shrunk away from the disapproving tone, pulling up his shoulders. "It's easy for you to say that – you're the golden child, the perfect one," he retorted bitterly. He reared back when Itachi suddenly poked his forehead. "The hell?" Out of reflex, he quickly pushed his hand away.

"I'm not perfect – nobody is perfect," Itachi told him and his eyes softened a bit. "Father is a fool to not acknowledge the fact that you are the best in your field. It doesn't matter that you haven't climbed up to being CEO in the Uchiha Corporation – you're helping Omega and you're doing a damn good job with that. You are my brother, but if I hadn't believed that Deidara would be safe in your hands, I would have never agreed to you becoming his doctor. You _are_ the best, however, so I know I can trust Deidara and my children with you."

Sasuke looked away, feeling highly uncomfortable underneath his brother's praise.

"So you're going to attend the party this year," Itachi continued calmly and picked up his own glass of wine.

"No, I'm not," Sasuke replied quickly. No matter how much praise his brother would heap on him, he was not going to deal with his father. "Besides, I have work to do."

"I very much doubt that your patients are willing to have check-ups and examinations in the last week of the year," Itachi said lightly.

"Paperwork," the younger man answered snidely.

"Well, that paperwork will have to wait, because if you don't attend the party," a sinister smirk appeared on Itachi's face, causing Sasuke to stiffen in apprehension, "then I will inform your _lovely_ secretary where you live and tell her that you are just _dying_ to spend the first day of the new year with her."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth. "You wouldn't," he whispered aghast. The thought of Karin being encouraged further to pursue made him shudder in disgust. He already had a hard time getting it through her thick skull that he wasn't interested in her and if Itachi told her that he wanted to spend New Year's with her … The result would be disastrous for him – and his brother was definitely capable of going through with his plan.

"My dear, dear Otouto, you know fully well that I would do something like that," Itachi remarked, sounding rather bored. "In the end, it's your choice, though. Who do you think will aggravate you the worst?"

"You're an absolute bastard, nii-san," Sasuke replied flatly and glared at the older man.

Itachi had the nerve to pat his shoulder. "I knew you would see it my way," he said satisfied and stood up. "Come on, I believe Deidara is finished with preparing lunch now."

It was a wonder, Sasuke mused while he followed his brother to the dining room, that Itachi hadn't been beaten up yet for being so goddamn annoying.

* * *

Clearly Itachi had informed no one about the fact that Sasuke would be attending the party. His mother stared at him with such a shocked face, it was as if he had died and returned from the dead.

"Oh my goodness, Sasuke, honey, you're here!" she exclaimed surprised and immediately ushered him inside, keeping a hand on his arm as if she thought he would run off if she didn't guide him inside.

Running off actually sounded like a pretty good idea to him.

"Hello, mother," he murmured and kissed her cheek. He removed his jacket, which was hung up next to several others – including a very garish looking orange jacket. Who in their right mind would wear an orange jacket?

"I'm so happy you are attending this party!" Her smile was so joyful that he started to feel a bit guilty for refusing to attend every year.

"I didn't have any work to do, so I decided to attend," was his rather lame response and he shuffled a bit with his feet.

"Well, I'm really glad about that," she said sincerely. "Your brother will be happy as well."

Both did not mention his father at all.

"Mikoto-ba-chan?" Sasuke's cousin, Obito, called out from somewhere in the kitchen. "Where are those little biscuits, you know, the salty ones?"

"Why don't you go greet everyone while I'll help Obito-kun?" Mother suggested and hurried off to the kitchen, before Obito decided to raid all kitchen cabinets.

Taking a deep breath – faintly frowning when a peculiar scent wriggled its way into his nostrils – he made his way to the living room, guided by the loud chattering and the occasional deep laugh of one of his cousins.

The first people he noticed was a very familiar looking blond man – _what was he doing here?_ – sitting next to his nephew, who was enthusiastically showing all the presents he had received during Christmas.

As Sasuke approached them – mother had said to greet everyone, but she hadn't said in which order – he heard Akihito say, "This puzzle is from …"

"Still showing off your presents, brat?" Sasuke couldn't help but interject amused. Akihito loved showing off his gifts to other people – the older Alpha still hadn't figured out whether Akihito was attempting to make other people jealous or whether he genuinely wanted to show what he had received.

"Sasuke-jisan!" Akihito cried out enthusiastically and he dropped his puzzle as if it was on fire. He rushed towards the older man, holding up his arms in a silent plea for a hug.

Automatically Sasuke bent down to pick him up, grunting when he settled him on his hip. "You're getting heavy," he informed him dryly, adjusting the boy slightly so that he wouldn't suddenly fall down.

Akihito puffed up his cheeks like an angry chipmunk and huffed dismayed. "I'm not!" he protested and scowled fiercely.

"You're getting bigger, so you're getting heavier," Sasuke retorted solemnly.

"Not true!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "So you're not a big boy?"

"I, yes, wait! No … I am …" Akihito became flustered; his face displaying his confusion. He clearly had no idea what he had to answer.

The sudden sound of snickering drew Sasuke's and Akihito's attention towards the blond man, who had been looking at them silently.

Uzumaki flushed underneath Sasuke's gaze and he cleared his throat as he rose up from the large pillow. "Hello, Uchiha-sensei," he greeted him and rubbed the back of his neck. He looked a bit bemused.

"Uzumaki-san, I hadn't expected to see you here," Sasuke said and lowered his nephew back on the ground. He kept his eyes trained on the blond, not wanting to look away for some odd reason.

Uzumaki let out a nervous chuckle. "Deidara-kun invites me every year."

"Ah," Sasuke breathed out as realisation dawned upon him. Deidara had raved a lot about a beautiful, cute looking blond, who was his friend. Some moments Sasuke had really wondered whether Deidara didn't have some sort of crush on his friend. "So you're the cute blond my brother-in-law raves about," he couldn't stop himself from remarking, while an amused smirk lingered on his lips.

Who knew that his new patient was Deidara's friend? Had Deidara recommended him to this man?

To his amusement, Uzumaki's cheeks soon resembled a fierce red tomato as he spluttered and floundered; obviously having no idea at all how he should react to Sasuke's comment.

Akihito, bless his nephew, decided it was his turn to add to the conversation. "Naruto-niisan is pretty, right, Sasuke-jisan?" he remarked innocently and his big eyes looked imploringly at his uncle.

Before Sasuke could answer, Uzumaki gently pushed Akihito to his grandmother underneath Sasuke's amused gaze. "Why don't you go to your grandmother, Akihito-kun? I heard she has chocolate chip cookies," he fibbed, while his cheeks turned even redder – a feat the Alpha hadn't thought was possible.

"Cookies?" At the mention of that, Akihito's face cleared up immediately and he instantly ran off, forgetting that he had asked his uncle a question.

"Sorry about that," Uzumaki apologized, smiling weakly.

Sasuke couldn't stop himself from appraising the blond, his eyes roving across his lean body, causing the blond to stiffen. "Well, he isn't lying. My nephew does have good taste," he murmured before he could stop himself. The Alpha in him purred in agreement. Why couldn't he keep his mouth shut?

"Flattery is something all Uchiha are good in, I assume." Uzumaki's voice trembled when he chuckled, obviously affected by Sasuke's blatant appraisal.

"Only when the other one is worthy of praise," Sasuke retorted smoothly and picked up two glasses of champagne from a plate. Well, in for a penny, in for a pound. It wasn't like he was exactly lying. The blond intrigued him, something not many people managed to achieve, and he wanted to find out what exactly it was about the blond that made him incapable of keeping a tight lid on his emotions after only meeting him twice so far. Maybe this party would provide an opportunity to discover more about Uzumaki.

"Where's your mate? I thought I would see him here, considering you're here," he asked offhandedly while he handed over one of the flute glasses to the Omega. So far Uzumaki had shown up alone at his appointments and it made him wonder why that was. Usually the mates of the Omega were at least present during the first appointment – mainly to ensure that Sasuke wouldn't try to touch their mates inappropriately.

"Ah, eh, he had to meet up with a client, so I came on my own," Uzumaki answered and shrugged; the look in his eyes suggesting that was not the first time something like that happened.

"And he leaves you on your own? What a shame," Sasuke remarked and sipped from his champagne, which had a fruity aftertaste. Which Alpha in their right mind let an attractive Omega like Uzumaki attend a party alone? That was basically asking for trouble. A reason why none of the single Uchiha men – and even women – had approached the blond could be because the stench of his mate still lingered a bit around him. It was very faint, though, and most Alpha wouldn't let themselves be stopped by a weak scent like that. The best reason Sasuke could come up with why the blond hadn't been accosted yet was because Deidara had brought him in and nobody dared to go against his wishes.

"Say, Uchiha-sensei, …" Uzumaki broke through his musings hesitatingly.

"Call me Sasuke," Sasuke interrupted calmly, having made the decision on a whim. The polite addressing was starting to irk him. Noticing Uzumaki's bemused look, he elaborated, "We're not in my practice, so you can call me Sasuke." That was a reasonable explanation in his opinion.

Uzumaki blinked confused, but continued, "Sasuke-san, how come I haven't seen you here at this party the past few years?"

"Because I was busy dealing with patients." Sasuke frowned and then decided he might as well confess the real reason for his attendance this year. "This year, however, that bastard I call my brother decided to blackmail me into leaving my schedule empty for today."

Uzumaki winced, but a look of understanding crossed his face.

Not wanting to talk about his brother or his work, Sasuke commented with his head cocked slightly, "You know, I have your complete medical history, but I don't know anything about you as a person, Uzumaki-san." That had to be one of the lamest ways to ask a person to talk about themselves, but it would have to do for now.

Something flashed in those deep blue eyes. "Call me Naruto, please."

Sasuke's small smile was mirrored by a beautiful one on _Naruto's_ face, before the Omega started telling him about job and his attempts at selling his own art.

* * *

Sasuke led Naruto to a large balcony, which looked out on a large backyard covered with pure white snow. The balcony was shielded from the nature elements by thick glass, so both men could enjoy eating their early dinner without freezing to death. He knew this balcony was rather isolated and therefore quite private – the perfect place for them.

Sasuke was quite shocked to realise that he actually enjoyed talking with Naruto. The blond man had a way of making even the most mundane thing sound interesting and Sasuke listened intently to him talking animatedly about his work as an art teacher and his friends, interjecting questions whenever he could. There was this strange hunger inside of him, urging him to ask more, to get to know more about Naruto. For once he didn't question this urge and instead acted on it and was delighted to notice that Naruto was quickly relaxing around him. There was no danger of a stilted, awkward conversation; while Naruto talked more than Sasuke did, their conversation went smoothly, words bouncing back and forth as if they had known each other for years instead of only a month.

"Ever since then Iruka-sensei has refused to leave me alone in charge of his class," Naruto ended his latest exploit of his many adventures proudly with a bright grin making his face shine. He had just told Sasuke about the time he had managed to coerce a whole class to paint their classroom orange.

"You can be a right menace when you want to be," Sasuke smirked and placed his glass of red wine back on the table with a soft 'thunk'.

"All in good fun," Naruto reassured him with a large grin and put a piece of roasted chicken in his mouth.

A comfortable silence fell upon them as they both enjoyed their meal.

Until Naruto suddenly blurted out, "How come you don't have a mate?" A look of horror was plastered on his face and he clapped a hand for his mouth, while Sasuke stared at him surprised. He hadn't expected a question like that _at all_. "I'm sorry! It's none of my …"

Sasuke cut him off gently, not offended at the unexpected question, "The last person I was with couldn't deal with my work schedule." _Amongst other issues; ones you don't need to be bothered with_. "Since then it's just easier to concentrate on my work, instead of dealing with bitch fits. I love my work and I have no patience for people who can't deal with that."

"Oh." Naruto sounded quite subdued and Sasuke blinked, a bit puzzled at the odd tone. While he twirled his fork between his fingers, the blond teased in a weak, light hearted voice, "So you have no one waiting for you at home? Such a shame; you seem to be quite a catch."

"At this moment, no, but who knows when that will change," Sasuke murmured and his voice deepened, his eyes gazing straight into wide, blue ones, while the atmosphere between them grew charged with heavy tension, a tension the Alpha hadn't felt in years.

Those shimmering blue eyes drew him in and his mind was suddenly filled with a vision of Naruto wrapped up in his embrace, offering those delicate, rose lips to him. Lips that would grow swollen and bruised if he kissed him too long and his throat seemed to dry out. What was happening to him?

"Naruto …" he breathed out and leant forwards, closer until …

"Aha! Here you are!"

The door slammed open to reveal a triumphantly looking Deidara and an exasperated Itachi.

Sasuke lurched back, feeling his heart skip a beat; Naruto yelped in fright and slammed back into his chair. Just like Sasuke he had been leaning forwards and a curious blush covered his cheekbones when he shyly glanced at Sasuke. A strange warmth filled him at that sight.

Itachi threw him an undiscerning glance, which pissed off Sasuke quite badly. Why the fuck did his brother need to interrupt them now?

"What do you want?" he asked roughly and scowled at the bastard.

Itachi's calculating gaze – never a look that promised something good – from Naruto to him and he shook his head sharply. "Sasuke, can I talk to you for a moment? It's private," he murmured.

 _Private, yeah right_ , Sasuke thought darkly and glanced at Naruto, hoping that his eyes weren't giving away too much of his inner turmoil. "Excuse me," he muttered and stiffly followed his brother deeper into the house, into a room at the end of the hallway.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Itachi whirled around and pinned him to the floor with hard eyes.

"What on earth do you think you're doing, Sasuke?" Itachi asked and he sounded quite agitated.

Sasuke clenched his hands to fists, not appreciating the way Itachi had pulled him away from Naruto. "I was talking to Naruto-san. What else did it look like?" he snapped annoyed.

Itachi took a step closer and unwillingly the younger man backed up. " _That_ did not look like talking to me," he said in a strained voice. " _That_ looked like you were about to kiss him!"

"I was not," Sasuke protested immediately, but they both knew his negation was futile. He groaned inwardly and could smack himself. Yes, he had been about to kiss Naruto, but he had no clue why that urge had fallen over him. He had never been so close to losing control before; what on earth had happened there?

"Naruto-kun has _a mate_ ," the older Alpha bit out.

"I know that!" Sasuke hissed and his nails bit into his skin. Of course he knew that; Naruto was his damn patient, because he was trying to conceive a child with his mate. The other Alpha's stench lingered around the blond – of course Sasuke knew the Omega had a mate.

"Then it would do you well to stay away from him, Sasuke," Itachi warned him and looked at him reproachfully. "His mate won't appreciate you trying to seduce Naruto."

The younger man grinded his teeth together and the ridiculous urge to throw something or punch his brother in the face rose up, leaving him trembling with anger. "I wasn't trying to seduce him," he brought out; his jaw set tightly.

He really hadn't been; he had just been filled with this inexplicable warmth that left him more confused than ever. Why had his thoughts become so muddled since he had met the blond?

And why was he being scolded like he was a kid who had done something naughty?

The look of pity on his brother's face made him hiss in anger and it stung more than his look of reproach had done.

"He is your patient, Sasuke," Itachi told him softly and he sighed. "He's off limits even if he didn't have a mate. Don't be foolish, Otouto."

Who had told him that … Right, Deidara must have told him. He turned around, absolutely done with this particular conversation. He didn't appreciate being scolded at all. "Right, if that's all, I'm going back," he said coldly, but his wrist was grabbed in a deceptively strong hold.

Dark eyes, tinted with just a slight hue of red, looked at him sadly. "I don't want you to get hurt, Otouto," Itachi murmured and squeezed his wrist softly. "Pursuing Naruto-kun will only lead to trouble."

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Sasuke retorted stubbornly and tugged at his hand. "I'm not planning on pursuing Naruto-san. Now let me go so that I can go back. We were having dinner and talking."

"I don't think so." Itachi shook his head. "You'll be coming with me. You've sneaked away for too long and mother is wondering where you are. You need to greet the rest of the family."

"Like hell I will," Sasuke snorted but froze when Itachi's aura grew oppressive, his Alpha coming to the surface. The temperature dropped a couple of degrees.

A steel note was woven through his voice, when Itachi replied, "You will join me now and greet the rest of our family."

Sasuke wasn't weak; he might have won a fight with his brother if he really went all out, but his respect and love for his brother held him back and had him nodding dejectedly in agreement.

A sigh filled the air and his forehead was suddenly poked, causing him to reel back. "I'm not against you falling in love with Naruto-kun, Otouto. I just want to prevent you from getting hurt because you decided to pursue him. Give up on Naruto-kun and find someone else, who deserves you," Itachi told him solemnly and squeezed his shoulder, before holding the door open. "Come on, before mother sends out a search party."

Sasuke wanted to protest. There was no way he was falling in love with Naruto. That wasn't happening at all, couldn't happen. He had only talked to the Omega three times – that wasn't long enough to fall in love. He was intrigued by the blond, that was all. It was just the odd scent clinging around the younger man that threw him off balance and made him ponder about kissing him.

But instead of protesting, he quietly followed his brother downstairs, steeling himself for the inevitable meetings with the rest of his family. Yes, he wasn't fallen in love; this need to go back to the Omega was just because he had promised to return and he didn't want to appear impolite.

Nothing more. It couldn't be anything more.

So when he finally managed to sneak away from Itachi's watchful eyes, but received a call that his help was needed during a labour, the disappointment and frustration that filled him was only because he had promised to return and would now appear to be impolite.

It wasn't because deep inside of him, he longed to be near Naruto again and see that beautiful smile brightening up his face, making his eyes glitter like sapphire in the moonlight.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: I'm happy to see that so many people are enjoying this story. It really brought a smile to my face to read your lovely reviews and see the favourite count going up :)
> 
> As always, you can still leave me ideas for omake behind.
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and comments!
> 
> Warnings: description of birth, though it is not very explicit; tied to that explanation how male Omega give birth; implied beginning of mature content (so no real content). I think those are the most important warnings
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto owns it.
> 
> I hope you'll like it!
> 
> Please leave your thoughts behind in a review! Should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.
> 
> See you all in the next chapter!

_Chapter 3_

The alarm clock beeped endlessly, announcing that it was time to wake up and face reality once more.

A pale hand shot out from underneath the heavy blankets and slammed down on the clock mercilessly, killing the noise instantly.

Warm breath caressed Sasuke's neck and he shivered slightly when a warm hand crept alongside his side before coming to rest casually on his stomach.

"Hm, do you really have to get up now?" the other one murmured sleepily and a pair of soft lips brushed across his shoulder, while tufts of silky soft hair tickled his nape.

The warm and very welcome presence in his bed made it very difficult to actually get up. "Unfortunately, I do," Sasuke sighed and turned to lay on his back. Half lidded eyes gazed at him when he turned his head. "I have several patients scheduled for today."

"Hm, that's too bad," the other man murmured and a mischievous smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "I had plans for us this morning."

"Yeah?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow amused, while his own hand trailed over warm skin. "What kind of plans?"

"Well, they would involve us," he shifted until he climbed on top of Sasuke, nudging his legs open so that he could lay in between them, "this bed and a lot of exercise."

"I don't know whether I would like exercise in bed," the dark haired man teased him, while his hands came to rest on the Omega's hips.

Glittering eyes locked onto his and a pink tongue came out to lick at rose lips. "Oh, I'm sure I can persuade you to like this particular type of exercise," his lover breathed and wiggled his hips meaningfully. "I'm still prepared from last night ~" Tanned hands were placed on his chest and his lover rolled his hips against Sasuke's. "I really, really need you inside me. Please, Sasuke." That last sentence was expelled in a breathy moan and the Omega yelped cutely when Sasuke roughly turned them around, not able to say no to such a delectable plea.

"Because you asked so nicely," he grunted and holding those slim legs open, his hips snapped forwards and he …

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

The alarm clock met its demise against the wall, shattering in several pieces. The noise it had been making not even a few seconds ago died out with a last weak, shrill 'beep'.

Dark eyes with a reddish hue fixated to them glared up at the ceiling and a harsh curse escaped the Alpha when he slammed his arms back down on the mattress. The glare was turned towards the very prominent bulge making both his trousers and the sheets tent impressively. He had been _this close, this close_ and of course that goddamn clock had to fucking ruin it.

"Damn it," Sasuke growled and roughly threw off the sheets, leaving them in a rumpled heap behind on the bed, while he stalked towards the bathroom, ignoring the slightly cold air that managed to seep through the small cracks and linger throughout the house. The January air was ruthless, but the dark haired man didn't care about that. His sleepwear was dumped on the floor and he stepped into his shower as soon as the water had reached an agreeable degree of warmth.

Biting his lip, he looked down and contemplated whether he would take care of himself now or let it go away by ignoring it.

Ever since their conversation during the belated Christmas party, Sasuke had been plagued by dreams about Naruto. Some were fairly innocent: both exchanging kisses, hugging each other while watching television – who knew Sasuke could have tame dreams like those? – and some were bordering on the line of being absolutely depraved and obscene: Naruto going down on him, while gazing at him with shiny, innocent eyes while he toyed with himself underneath watchful, dark eyes or Naruto clinging to whatever he could find for dear life while Sasuke fucked him roughly.

That last type of dreams usually led to him waking up with either insistent morning wood or soiled trousers.

He had never had dreams like these before and it made him wonder why Naruto was so special to have triggered those. Sure, he was attractive; quite sexy as well. But so were a few of his other patients and he had never imagined how they would look like naked on his bed with hooded eyes. With Naruto however, he couldn't look at his bed anymore without an image of the blond lying on it popping up in his mind.

When walking into his kitchen, he sometimes caught himself wondering how it would be like if he woke up to Naruto preparing breakfast for him. In the living room he sometimes pondered what it would be like to arrive home during the evening and find the Omega waiting for him with a welcoming smile on his face and a gentle kiss to greet him.

"I'm so fucked," Sasuke whispered and stared blankly at the bottom of the shower, watching how the water swirled around before it disappeared into the drain.

Maybe it was time that he admitted to himself that he was far more attracted to Naruto than he was supposed to be. He had denied having feelings for the blond in front of Itachi and to himself for a while, but the dreams and the longing he felt to have the blond in his life, _as his mate_ , were quickly proven that his denial was futile and quite stupid.

Placing his forehead against the wall, he closed his eyes and sighed, while the water cascaded down his back, over his buttocks and legs, taking the soap suds with it. He didn't know what to do now. Maybe Itachi was right; maybe he had bypassed the stage of being attracted and he was on his way to falling in love with the Omega.

That thought _scared_ him.

He had never really fallen in love before. Sure, he had had a girlfriend in the past, who he had genuinely liked, but it had never turned into real love – not the love that Itachi and Deidara shared with each other and which had made him jealous on various occasions. He wanted to have the type of his love his brother had managed to find with Deidara. He wanted to see the look of adoration and deep love that Deidara often had when looking at Itachi reflected in _his_ mate's eyes. He wanted someone who loved him for whom he was – and not because he was rich and a member of the Uchiha family. He wanted to be as happy as Itachi was. He wanted a _family_ of his own, a mate and children who would love him _unconditionally_.

He wanted all that and the person who he could envision sharing all that with him, was with _someone else_ , trying to create a family with that man.

Was this all a cruel joke of the universe? Because he couldn't fall in love with his ex-girlfriend and had blown off every other person who tried to flirt with him? Was this some sort of punishment: finally finding that one person who could be _it_ for him, only to never have a chance, because that man was spoken for? Would he find another person who could make his heart skip a beat by merely glancing at him, who could make his stomach flip upside down, who created a weird sort of tugging feeling deep inside of him whenever he thought about them?

Or was Naruto his only possible chance at finding the love he envied his brother for having?

In a span of barely two months, Naruto had managed to turn his whole world upside down, made him feel something he had never felt before and that honestly scared him to death. How was it possible for someone to have such a strong hold over him when they had barely talked or spent time together?

The loud ringtone of his cell phone broke rudely through his thoughts and he jerked away from the wall, a bit disorientated.

When he realised that it was the ringtone he had set specifically for his brother, he hurried out of the shower, wrapped a towel around his hips and snatched his wildly vibrating phone off the sink.

"Itachi?"

"The baby is coming. You need to get here quickly," Itachi spoke and his voice sounded strained as if he was holding back something.

"Okay, does he want to stay at your place?" Sasuke asked and marched to his bedroom to pull on some clothes. Carelessly he pushed some shirts to the side, before he grabbed a dark green shirt, threw that one on the bed and then started to hunt for some trousers.

Itachi sounded a bit muted for a short moment. "Yes, he doesn't want to go to the hospital. Do you think that will be fine?"

Hearing his older brother, one who always was in control of himself, so flustered and nervous was strange and it reminded Sasuke of the day Akihito was born. Back then he had seriously thought Itachi would faint before he could hold his son.

"Yes, it'll be fine. I'll call an ambulance to be on standby just in case, but everything will be fine," Sasuke murmured and pulled a pair of black trousers of the neat pile. "I'll be there in fifteen minutes, nii-san."

"Okay, see you soon, Otouto," Itachi said and he ended the call.

He rushed through dressing up and while he gathered everything he needed, he called the local hospital and told them to have an ambulance ready in case something went wrong with the home birth. He was confident in his skills and as Deidara hadn't had any problems during his pregnancy – unlike with Akihito – he doubted that there would be any problems occurring during the birth. Still, it was better to be safe than sorry. He would never forgive himself if something went wrong with either Deidara or his baby, just because he had been too confident in his skills and hadn't bothered to call for back up.

* * *

Itachi looked rather frazzled when he opened the door before Sasuke had even got the chance to ring the bell. His long hair that normally was always pulled into a low, immaculate ponytail seemed to have resisted the hair tie today, as most strands has escaped it – or Itachi had been running his hand through his hair too much.

"You look like you've been through hell," Sasuke greeted him dryly and kicked off his shoes, neatly slipping into the provided slippers. "The actual pushing part hasn't even started yet – how on earth are you going to survive?"

"Shut up, Sasuke," Itachi growled and his fingers twitched as if he wanted to grab something.

An Alpha whose mate was going through the process of giving birth was always quite tetchy and prone to lashing out.

Sasuke knew that from experience and yet he couldn't help himself from remarking, "How come it's you again who looks the most stressed out? Your mate is the one who has to push something the size of a watermelon out of his body, you know."

"Sasuke, I swear to all that's holy, shut up," Itachi snapped through gritted teeth. "God, wait until your mate is the one giving birth; let's see how you act then!"

Ignoring his brother's last comment, Sasuke entered the large bedroom in which he encountered Deidara bent over in front of the bed; his hand clenched tightly around the bedframe.

"Hello, Deidara," Sasuke greeted him idly and walked over to him. "I see your second son is an early riser like his father."

Deidara, whose cheeks were a fierce red and whose blond hair was already plastered to his forehead and nape thanks to the sweat sliding down, let out a weak chuckle. "Yeah, he seems rather insistent on coming out today, un." He grimaced and moaned lowly while his stomach rippled with a contraction.

"How much time is there between the contractions?" Sasuke inquired and rummaged through his bag until he found plastic gloves.

"Ten minutes," Itachi replied tersely.

At the same moment, Deidara answered, "Five."

There was a short bout of silence. Sasuke flicked his eyes towards Deidara, who looked quite guilty. "Five already?"

"Did they suddenly come quicker?" Itachi asked bemused, but worry was lurking in his eyes.

The blond sighed and shook his head. "I didn't wake you up immediately, Itachi. I've been having contractions since midnight and my water broke at two a.m."

"Why on earth didn't you wake me up sooner?" Itachi asked outraged and the red colour in his eyes grew in reaction to his agitation.

Deidara threw a hand up in exasperation. "What for? You would only be worrying for nothing. This way you still got some rest. It's not like you could really help me, un."

Both Sasuke and Deidara didn't miss the flash of hurt in Itachi's eyes and Sasuke hurriedly turned away, making his way to the bathroom to sterilize his hands while Deidara spoke soothingly to his brother.

The sound of water gushing down wasn't enough to drown out Deidara's voice and unwillingly Sasuke listened to their conversation while he was washing his hands.

"You know I didn't mean it like that, Itachi," Deidara murmured and there was the sound of shuffling.

"I can't help being worried about you. Not after what happened last time," Itachi retorted and he sounded a bit nasal.

"What _almost_ happened," Deidara corrected him gently. "Sasuke-kun was there to help me get through it and now he'll help me as well. We'll both be fine. I trust Sasuke-kun; don't you, un?"

"Of course I do," Itachi grunted. "I wouldn't let him near you if I didn't trust him."

There was the sound of a kiss and then a low moan of pain.

"Right, lay down on the bed, Deidara. I need to check your progress," Sasuke said briskly when he left the adjoined bathroom.

His brother helped the Omega clamber on the bed and Deidara shuffled backwards until he was leaning against a mountain of pillows, making Sasuke wonder vaguely where he had got so many pillows.

Sasuke sat down on the bed on his knees and urged the blond to raise his legs while he pushed his large, white shirt up, so that he had access; all the while ignoring the tense growling that Itachi was making deep in his chest. The Alpha in Itachi was pissed off that Sasuke was looking at and touching Deidara's private parts, but Itachi could restrain himself from lashing out.

The male Omega had the most complicated bodies of all species; when they got pregnant, their bodies naturally started to change and adjust itself to protect and nurture the growing baby. Once they entered the eight month, though, a second opening right between their anus and testicles formed, which was previously hidden behind a layer of skin. The formation of the opening – which served as the birthing canal for the baby – was mostly painless, but it could go paired with some mild cramps. After the birth, it took a couple of weeks before the entrance disappeared again. Researchers still hadn't figured out how exactly the birthing canal in male Omega was formed and how it disappeared again when the Omega wasn't pregnant. Male Beta and Alpha who decided to get pregnant oddly didn't form that birthing canal, resulting into those babies being born through a C-section. Barely any male Alpha or Beta wanted to carry his own children, though, so those cases were quite rare.

"You're ready to start pushing," Sasuke announced after carefully examining the newly formed opening. "You're fully dilated." He turned towards Itachi, who was studying him with glowing eyes. "I need you to fill a large bowl with warm water and get some soft, clean towels."

Itachi nodded stiffly and disappeared soundlessly to the bathroom.

"I thought you had already prepared those, un," Deidara remarked, sounding a bit out of breath. Another pained groan escaped him and his fingers clutched into the rumpled sheets.

"And have Itachi breathing down my neck the entire time?" Sasuke shook his head and clucked his tongue. "This gives me at least a couple of minutes where I can help you without having to deal with a possessive Alpha."

Deidara laughed softly, but the amused sound was quickly cut off and he audibly clenched his teeth together.

"You remember the drill?" Sasuke asked and pulled his gloves on. "With the next contraction, I need you to start pushing. When the contraction stops, you stop as well, take a breather and then the whole thing starts over again."

"Yeah, I know," Deidara grimaced and then took a deep breath, his face turning even redder when he started to push, trying to get his baby out while riding the waves of the contractions.

Soon Itachi joined them again and after dumping the requested items next to Sasuke, he climbed next to the labouring blond and offered his hand, while crooning encouraging words in his ear.

In between the pushing, Deidara managed to get some curse words spat out at Itachi, telling him he would never allow him near his body again and that the next time he wanted a child, he would cut off his balls and make him eat them.

Sasuke was actually rather impressed by the string of curses that left the blond's mouth; it was a good thing Akihito was staying over at his grandmother's house, because otherwise he would have learnt quite a few new words.

"He's almost there, Deidara," Sasuke murmured, his hand curling underneath the small head that was slowly emerging out of the birth canal. "I can see his head already. Just a bit longer."

"Fuck off!" Deidara groaned and with a tight grip on Itachi's hand, he started pushing again, though he was visibly growing more and more tired.

Luckily for Deidara, though, - and for Itachi's hand – it didn't take too long anymore before Sasuke was helping sliding out the baby's body, making certain that Deidara didn't rip throughout the process.

A loud wail was Deidara's reward for pushing for more than two hours and the blond fell back against his mate's chest with a tired moan after expelling the afterbirth as well.

After cutting through the umbilical cord and carefully washing off all the slime and blood of the little boy, Sasuke wrapped him carefully in a white blanket and brought him over to Deidara.

"Here's your son; a healthy baby boy," he announced and carefully placed the fussy baby in Deidara's arms.

"Oh god, look at him. So beautiful," Deidara murmured and tears started rolling over his face, while he stared in wonder at the small bundle. A blond tuft of hair was peeking out from underneath the blanket and dark eyes blinked sleepily, while pouty lips smacked together.

"You did wonderful, Deidara," Itachi whispered and he looked at their new born son tenderly, carefully brushing a finger across his chubby cheek. He murmured something in Deidara's ear, which Sasuke couldn't pick up, but he could make a good guess to what he had said.

Light blue eyes flickered towards Sasuke and a tired, but grateful smile bloomed on Deidara's face. "Thank you for helping me, Sasuke-kun."

"Don't mention it." Sasuke shook his head and for some reason his eyes lingered at the picture the three people on the bed were making.

Deidara was cooing to his son, while Itachi remained quiet, but shone with pride and love for his family.

 _That_ was what he wanted. A family to call his own. A mate who loved him, who he loved wholeheartedly, and children. Children his mate would carry.

He wanted the happiness and the love he saw displayed on his brother's and brother-in-law's faces in his own life too.

Helping his nephew being brought in the world triggered something in him. Itachi hadn't gained that precious love and happiness without going through some trouble, so why should Sasuke let himself be stopped by some obstacles? Love wasn't always easy and if he wanted to obtain that dream of a family to call his own, he would need to work for it.

 _I'm sorry, nii-san_ , Sasuke thought as he rolled down his sleeves again, _but it looks like I have to break my promise to you. I can't let him go without a fight. If this is my one chance at true love, I need to take it._

* * *

Now that he had made a resolve to not give up on Naruto yet, he realised he had no idea how to proceed next. Whether he liked it or not, Naruto was still together with his mate and even attempting to get pregnant – not a very good combination for Sasuke. He wasn't such a bastard that he would purposefully do something to break up the couple, but naturally Naruto had to leave his mate in order for Sasuke to have a chance with him. And even if Naruto broke up with his mate, there was no certainty that he would give Sasuke a chance.

How the hell was he supposed to act now? He couldn't ask his brother for help, because Itachi had made it quite clear that he should give up on Naruto. Asking Suigetsu and Juugo – the ones he came closest to when thinking of friends – was out of the question entirely. Suigetsu would bug him too much and generally act like an idiot and Juugo wouldn't be able to offer any decent ideas either.

For the first time in his life, Sasuke bemoaned the fact that he hadn't grown closer to more people.

* * *

A week after Shion was born, Sasuke impulsively took an afternoon off from his work; there were no patients scheduled during the afternoon and he was too distracted by thoughts of deep blue eyes glimmering in amusement to concentrate on his paperwork. When browsing through his schedule, he noticed that Naruto had an appointment scheduled later this week and the thought of seeing the blond again made his mouth dry out from sheer nerves. How was he supposed to act around the Omega now that he had realised that his feelings went deeper than merely superficial attraction? He didn't want to ruin any possible chance – no matter how miniscule it might be – by acting like an idiot, but at the same time remaining aloof wouldn't help him either.

God, he felt so pathetic; was this how Itachi had felt when he was trying to court Deidara?

Wait … _Deidara_. Maybe the Omega could help him? Deidara would probably be delighted to hear that Sasuke was interested in someone and would be willing to offer him advice; as long as he didn't slip up and tell the blond who he had set his eyes on, it should be safe.

Nodding determined to himself, Sasuke shut down his computer, grabbed his jacket and closed off his office after quickly exchanging his shirt and trousers for a cashmere sweater and black jeans; wearing his work clothes while being around a baby who could throw up without any warning and who would drool was not a good idea after all. He had sent Karin home an hour earlier, so all he had to do was turn off the lights and lock up the front door before walking over to his BMW. Throwing his bag on the backseat, he took a moment to study the air – it looked like it would start raining soon, judging by the grey clouds that were gathering ominously – and then slid behind the wheel.

He would need to figure out an excuse to get Deidara to talk to him alone; Itachi had taken time off from work to help his mate with their baby son and Itachi would know immediately about whom Sasuke was talking.

Well, he would figure something out when he was there.

He was almost near the only supermarket present in the town – Itachi's house was a few blocks past the supermarket – when his phone started to ring. Making certain it was connected to his Bluetooth – no way in hell was he risking an accident or a fine – he accepted the call when he saw the name "Deidara" flashing across the screen.

"Is there something the matter?" Sasuke asked curiously, bypassing the greeting.

Deidara huffed. "Why do you always assume something happened if I call you?"

"Just a feeling," the dark haired man replied dryly. "Did something happen?"

"Well, I kind of need you to buy some baby powder for me, un," Deidara admitted sheepishly and somewhere in the background, Shion cried softly. "We ran out of it yesterday."

"Why doesn't Itachi go out to buy it?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow. He could understand why Deidara wasn't going out to buy groceries; male Omega needed at least two weeks of recuperating before they felt well enough to go outside. Their mate didn't have that excuse, though.

"Itachi is trying to keep Shion calm, while I'm making lunch, un," Deidara sighed and footsteps sounded. "Please, Sasuke-kun? I really need that baby powder and your parents are out of town, so I can't call them."

"What about Kisame?"

"Seriously?" Deidara asked incredulously. "That idiot would probably buy shower gel. You know he's completely inept when it comes to baby stuff, un."

"For fuck's sake," Sasuke groaned and scowled at the yellow car in front of him. "Fine, I'll go pick some up. I'll call you back when I'm in the store."

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun!" Deidara answered cheerily and the call ended.

At least he wasn't forced to leave his work behind for this. With a sigh, he turned left at the first intersection and was forced to follow a very slow driving Ford for a while, before he could pass the car and drive into the parking lot of the supermarket.

"Let's get this over with," he muttered and grabbed his phone with him. After locking up his car, he briskly made his way to the entrance of the supermarket. Bypassing the shopping carts – there was no need to either take a shopping cart or a basket, considering he only needed one thing – he studied the various signs dangling from the ceiling and made a beeline for the one pointing towards the stuff meant for babies.

Deidara picked up his phone immediately. "Are you in the supermarket, un?"

"Yes, of course. Why else would I call you?" Sasuke grunted and stepped out of the way of a harried looking mother, who was mumbling to herself whilst looking at her grocery list and dragging her whining child with her. "Now, can I just grab some baby powder or …"

"No, the one you need to pick up is called Johnsons baby powder," Deidara told him. "The other ones aren't good for his sensitive skin, un."

"Are you sure you just aren't picky?" Sasuke grumbled annoyed and had to press himself against the display case of the fresh fish to avoid being run over by an employee of the store pushing a large cart in front of him.

"I'm not _picky_!" the Omega huffed. "I can't have Shion's skin becoming irritated and that brand is the only one his skin will tolerate, un."

"Did you even try out another brand before?" Sasuke asked exasperatedly and cursed underneath his breath when he had to avoid two screaming children running past him. Where the hell were their parents?

"Sasuke-kun, don't be difficult. Don't you want the best for your nephew, un?" Deidara questioned petulantly.

Sasuke snorted and shook his head, a bit agitated. He entered the aisle dedicated to babies and toddlers and made a beeline for the shelf containing the baby powder. "Sure, I want the best for my nephew," he agreed. "But it's just baby powder."

"It's not just baby powder, un," Deidara retorted sharply. "I can't have my baby's skin becoming irritated, because of bad baby powder."

Dark eyes slid back and forth over the shelf and he tapped his foot in irritation when he couldn't immediately spot the brand he needed to purchase. Why were there so many different brands? Baby powder was baby powder; how on earth could there be a difference?

"Can't I just grab a bottle?" he asked exasperatedly.

"No, Sasuke-kun, you can't! How many times do I need to repeat that?" Deidara shot back annoyed. "Shion needs that brand, not any other one."

"It's a baby! He won't care which brand it is!" He raked a hand through his hair and his bangs brushed against his cheeks. His patience was quickly wearing thin. "I don't even see the bloody thing! Tell that dear brother of mine to sacrifice his own time for this shit."

"Sasuke-kun! I …"

A familiar, tanned hand entered his view and took a bottle off the shelf.

"Here, he means this one," Naruto smiled and handed over the bottle.

Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise; he hadn't expected to see the blond here at all. Nevertheless, relief filled him and he shot the Omega a quick, grateful look while he accepted the bottle. "Never mind. Naruto-san found it," he told his brother-in-law and before the other man could reply, he ended the call and slipped the phone in his pocket. "Thank god you're here; I had no idea what he was talking about," he admitted, slightly flustered.

Despite being the one who delivered babies and examined expecting people, he really didn't have any clue what a baby really needed. Hell, this was the first time he really realised just how many brands there were for baby powder _only_.

"Deidara-kun is very peculiar when it comes to brands," Naruto chuckled and placed a large package into his cart.

A large package which turned out to be diapers.

His heart thudded painfully in his chest; why was Naruto buying diapers? Was he pregnant? Was his test positive? If it was, wasn't it too early to buy diapers already? Then again, he had heard of Omega who had started buying everything their baby needed the moment they heard they were pregnant. Had the hormone treatment worked then? He knew he should be happy if that was the case, because it meant he had solved Naruto's problem with conceiving, but …

He raised an eyebrow and asked in what he hoped was a casual tone, "Diapers?"

The Omega scratched the back of his head awkwardly and replied sheepishly, "A friend of mine forgot to buy diapers and he asked me to grab some."

The sweet relief that filled him at that admission should make him feel ashamed, but instead he was just glad that Naruto wasn't pregnant yet. God, he really was an arsehole at times, wasn't he? Naruto had come to him to help him with his problem to conceive and all Sasuke could hope was that he wouldn't succeed, because that meant he still had some shot at getting together with him. There was something seriously wrong with him.

"Ah, so we're both acting as messenger boys, huh?" Sasuke mused and tightened his grip around the bottle slightly.

Blue eyes roved over his body and unwillingly he straightened up a bit more. "No work today?" Naruto inquired lightly, referring to his casual outfit.

"Took off the afternoon and evening to visit my brother," Sasuke grunted and in some sort of unspoken agreement he followed the blond to another aisle, not wanting to relinquish this chance at being near him. Who knew when he would get another chance like this?

"Have you seen Shion-kun already?" Naruto asked curiously and steered the cart to the vegetable area.

Dark eyes quickly glanced at the firm arse encased in tight jeans walking in front of him, before he roughly shook his head. Now was not the time. Only then did his brain register the blond's question.

"Yes, two days ago; looks like the blond gene was more dominant this time," he answered dryly. Two days ago he had visited them for a quick check-up on Deidara to make certain that everything was healing correctly and it was now certain that Shion would have Deidara's blond hair.

"I bet he looks adorable," Naruto grinned and placed a lettuce crop, a bag with tomatoes, two cucumbers and a bag of carrots in his shopping cart, before continuing to the fruit area.

"I just hope he won't inherit Deidara's loudness," the dark haired man grumbled and eyed the growing pile of junk food such as crisps and a family packet of ramen – why so much ramen? – in Naruto's cart with increasing alarm. "How do you remain so slender with so much junk food?" he couldn't help but wonder aloud.

The Omega glanced at his cart and pouted. "That's not only for me, you know," he huffed and placed a bag of apples and a bunch of bananas in the cart.

"I would be worried if it was," Sasuke murmured, slightly amused, and trailed behind the blond, who was now looking at the shelves containing bottles of herbs.

A sigh of frustration escaped the blond and he stretched out his arm and even stood on his tiptoes in an attempt to grab a bottle of the highest shelf. "Damn it!" he cursed, dropped his arm, and he glared at one particular bottle of basil, as if it had done him a great misdeed. Such as being placed outside his reach.

Before he realised what he was doing, Sasuke was already standing right behind Naruto, his chest pressed against a firm back, and he reached past the man to grab the bottle in question. The mysterious, sweet scent that the Alpha was quickly becoming addicted to, curled into his nostrils and he helplessly took a discreet whiff; the Alpha in him purred in agreement. Ever since he had stopped denying his feelings, the Alpha side in him had become a lot calmer.

"Here. Do you need this one?" he asked and offered the bottle of basil to the blond. He had to remind himself to step away from the Omega before he would do something incredibly stupid.

Like grab his hand for example. Or …

"Thanks." Naruto nodded and after throwing one last scowl at the shelf – making Sasuke stifle a chuckle – he turned his cart. "Do you need something else to buy?"

"No, I was only here for the baby powder," Sasuke replied and together they made their way to the registers, ending up queueing behind an elder couple.

Sasuke was just trying to come up with an excuse to prolong his time together with Naruto – would it be presumptuous of him to ask whether the Omega wanted to join him to visit Deidara? – when he took notice of an elderly woman turning her head to look at them. Some white curls escaped out of her neat bun and her eyes crinkled a bit when she smiled.

"Aw, look at that, darling. They remind me of when we were young."

Her husband looked up and chuckled when he caught sight of the two young men behind them. "Except you were never a blonde," he pointed out teasingly.

"Oh, hush, you." She swatted his arm softly and then winked at Naruto, who stared back at her like a deer caught in the headlights. "Very nice catch, honey. Don't let him wander around other Omega, you hear? Nowadays it's so difficult to find a handsome, strong Alpha." She sighed and clucked her tongue. "Good that you got your hands on this one. I'm sure your children will be beautiful!"

"What? No, wait, you got it all wrong!" Naruto protested and waved his hands in panic. A heavy blush coloured his cheeks.

A satisfied smile threatened to break out on Sasuke's face and his eyes flickered over to the blond next to him. Silently he wondered how many people assumed that they were a couple – an assumption Sasuke would love to turn into reality.

The elderly woman's face cleared up in some kind of understanding and she patted Naruto's arm soothingly. "Oh, I understand. Still in that phase of getting to know each other, huh? Well, take it from this old woman: this man is definitely a keeper. You two make such a good couple!"

"Hana, I just paid, so we can go home," her husband reminded her and after offering one last wink to a quite horrified looking Naruto, she turned around again and hobbled next to her husband out of the cashier's lane.

His amusement at the woman's departing words became too big to contain and he chuckled silently. He found he really liked that woman.

Naruto didn't seem to appreciate his amusement, for he scowled at him. The scowl looked so out of place on the otherwise gentle face that Sasuke's amusement only grew at the pout forming around rose lips.

"That was not funny," Naruto whined and placed his groceries on the belt with a huff.

"Hey now, you heard the old lady: I'm quite the catch, so you need to hold on to me," Sasuke retorted teasingly and smirked.

"Oh, shut up, jerk," Naruto huffed and refused to look at the Alpha.

Sasuke cast an amused glance at him, but chose to keep quiet. Best not to irritate the Omega too much.

After he had paid for his single bottle of baby powder, they wandered over to the exit.

"Oh fuck," Naruto groaned in dismay when they stepped outside and were greeted by a curtain of rain falling down from the dark grey sky.

It seemed like Sasuke had been right with his assumption that it would rain; thank god he had a car. He didn't want to be the poor sod who had to walk through that downpour. Lightning flashed, followed by a loud clap of thunder and he felt the blond jumping in fright.

Speaking of a car … "Where's your car?" he asked and narrowed his eyes at the violence with which the rain was hitting the pavement. It didn't look like the rain would stop any time soon.

Naruto grimaced and shivered visibly when ice cold wind blew in their faces. "Still at home. I walked here, because the weather wasn't that bad when I left home."

He had _walked_ all the way here? On his own? Sasuke grimaced; while the majority of the town consisted out of 'decent' parts, there were still a couple of rough parts where you were advised to not go through alone and this supermarket was pretty close to such a rough neighbourhood. A bit too close for his liking. Didn't Naruto have any sense of self-preservation?

Well, he had been searching for a reason to prolong their time together …

He reached out and tugged softly at Naruto's sleeve to gain his attention. Surprised, blue eyes turned to look at him.

"Come on; I'll give you a lift. No use trying to walk through this storm or even wait here until it passes." He shrugged and glanced warily at the dark sky. Yes, that sky didn't look like it would clear up soon. A smile unfurled around his lips before he could stop it when he thought of a decent reason to get Naruto to accept his offer. "If you want, I can take you to Deidara. You can meet the little brat then."

Blue eyes flickered towards his watch and the blond bit his lower lip thoughtfully, contemplating the Alpha's offer. Sasuke found himself discreetly crossing his fingers, hoping that the Omega would agree. Even if he didn't have the time to visit Deidara, he would at least insist on driving the blond home. This really was no weather to be walking outside; even if the Omega didn't get sick easily, Sasuke wouldn't risk it. Not to mention he wasn't comfortable with the thought that the slender man would be walking near unsavoury neighbourhoods. Who knew what could happen?

To his immense relief, Naruto looked up and grinned. "If you don't mind." He looked a bit shy and he then burrowed himself deeper into his jacket – presumably to ward off the cold wind.

"Wait here for a minute. I'll bring my car around," Sasuke informed him and then sprinted through the car park to his car.

* * *

Despite the icy wind blowing around him and the cold rain making him shiver and shake his head to dislodge the rain drops from his nose, a warmth filled him. This day was quickly shaping out to be quite a good one. He would have a chance to spend at least a couple of hours with the blond. Sure, he would have to share his attention with his family, but now they weren't restricted anymore by the professional setting. If he played his cards right, he would have a chance to get to know the blond better. Their conversation during the Christmas party had been quite enlightening, but the Alpha craved to hear more, to get to know the blond Omega better.

And to think he wouldn't have got this chance if Deidara hadn't asked him to go to the supermarket.

 _Hm_ , he thought as he hastily unlocked the door of the driver's seat and slid inside, immediately cranking up the heat, _maybe I should give my thanks to Deidara. I'll visit him more often from now on._

After all without his picky brother-in-law, this chance of spending time with Naruto would have slipped through his fingers without him being aware of it.

For now, though, he would enjoy the time he could spend with Naruto. And for a brief moment, he was also grateful for the horrible weather as he stopped in front of the blond and helped him load his groceries in his trunk and their hands brushed against each other; their eyes meeting briefly before Naruto broke the contact with a light blush. The bubble of warmth inside of him grew.

Yeah, sometimes pouring rain wasn't that bad.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: And we have arrived at a scene a lot of you people were waiting for XD I hope I won't disappoint O_O
> 
> Thanks for all the comments and the kudos!
> 
> Warnings: Tension; two Alpha who don't like each other. That's it mainly
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto owns it.
> 
> I hope you'll like it!
> 
> Please let me know what you think of the chapter in a review! Should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me!
> 
> See you all in the next chapter!
> 
> Cuddles
> 
> Melissa

_Chapter 4_

Being grateful for the weather for the opportunity to spend more time with Naruto didn't take away the fact that Sasuke was incredibly glad to enter his warm car again. Judging by the relieved sigh that left the blond next to him, he appreciated the warmth as well.

He was waiting in front of a red light when he took the chance to look at Naruto, who was busying himself by warming his hands in front of the car heater.

"What does your partner do?" he suddenly blurted out. It had been on his mind for quite some time; ever since Naruto had told him his mate hadn't joined him to the Christmas party because of a meeting, he had been wondering what kind of job the man could have that would require him to spend so much time away from the blond.

Naruto looked up surprised and blinked bemused. "What? Oh, eh, he took over the law firm business of his father and he and his siblings take on cases like divorce and fraud," he answered and lowered his hands. The angry red that had spread out over his hands due to the ice cold wind had seeped away, leaving a soft tan behind.

"So he's pretty busy then, huh?" Sasuke questioned lightly and started his car again when the light indicated green. A lawyer, huh? Well, that certainly did explain his absence. Even so, why didn't he make the time to at least join Naruto during one appointment?

Although, he supposed he couldn't say much, considering his former girlfriend had complained that he spent a lot of hours in his office. _But_ , he thought, slightly petulant, _if my mate had trouble conceiving, I would make time to be there for him_. He might be a workaholic, but his mother had made certain that she instilled the importance of family and how he had to protect and care about the one he believed to be his soulmate into his head. His father had somewhat ruined his view on the importance of family, but he had never forgotten his mother's advice when it came to having a mate.

" _When you have a mate, you can't just think of yourself anymore. You have to consider what is best for the both of you. Compromises have to be made. You need to place the wellbeing and happiness of your mate before everything else and they will do the same for you in return. Love is never easy, sweetheart, but it is definitely worth it."_

"Most of the time, yeah," Naruto replied with a grimace, bringing Sasuke back out of his musings. "He tries to be home at a reasonable hour, but sometimes he doesn't always succeed in that." He shrugged half-heartedly. "I'm used to it."

Sasuke made a non-committal sound, thinking that the Omega shouldn't have got used to it, and turned left, following a small stream of cars. He wondered whether he still would have cared about whether or not Naruto spent long nights alone if he wasn't fallen in love with him. Quickly he dismissed the thought; it was stupid to contemplate things like that. Maybe he was biased due to his feelings for the blond, but nothing could be changed about that.

The rain continued to beat down on the roof of the car and the background noise was quite soothing in a strange way.

"Why did you decide to become a doctor?" Naruto asked curiously after a short bout of silence.

The dark haired man supposed that everyone would become curious after a while as to why he had chosen to enter the medical field, while the rest of his family dabbled in business. He drummed his fingers against the steering wheel, while trying to come up how to explain his decision.

"When I was fifteen, I got to know Konan through Itachi who knew her husband as one of the partners in my father's company. One day my brother had dropped me off at her apartment, because he and Nagato needed to convince a prospective client to sign a contract. Anyway, she was nearing her due date around that time and she went into labour not long after my brother and Nagato had left." He paused his tale momentarily to curse at an idiot who had cut him off abruptly – where had that douchebag learnt how to drive, for god's sake? – and then continued with a slight bite in his voice as the memory rose up to the front of his mind again, "I stayed with her while Nagato was on his way and I got to witness the absolute incompetence of her so called doctor. That idiot nearly caused her and her baby to die, because he seemed to be under the impression that Omega weren't in need of care during childbirth."

His hands tightened around the steering wheel and he ground his teeth together briefly; his blood still boiled in anger when he recalled how the otherwise calm and unruffled Konan had burst into panicked tears, going as far as begging for help, because she feared her baby would die. It had taken Sasuke threatening the doctor before the son of a bitch finally helped her deliver her baby. Sasuke himself would have helped her if he hadn't been afraid of messing up. As it was, he was grateful for the fact that his family had quite a reputation, because the doctor hadn't tried to 'accidentally' screw up with Sasuke breathing down his neck.

"After witnessing that, I decided that Omega deserved better care than that of discriminating doctors and I chose to study medicine specialising in pregnancy and childbirth of Omega," he concluded his story grimly, as soon as he was certain he wouldn't snap in anger.

"What happened to that doctor?" Naruto asked softly, clearly upset by what he had heard.

As an Omega, he probably had had experience with people looking down on him.

A nasty smirk curled around his lips. "Let's just say that he didn't need to worry about coming into contact with Omega ever again," he hummed.

It had also cost him his favourite outfit and made him realise for the first time how positively terrifying Itachi could be, but it had been worth it to see the look of relief on Konan's beautiful face when she was informed that that particular doctor would never be allowed to harm someone else again.

From the corner of his eye he saw Naruto shivering in response to what he had said and the blond seemed to decide that it was better for him if he didn't know more.

It was probably for the best that Naruto didn't know more, he mused when he turned into the street where his brother lived. He didn't want to tarnish Naruto's view of his family.

* * *

"Look at how cute he is," Naruto cooed at Shion, who was resting in Deidara's arms as he was waiting for his bottle of milk to warm up.

"Uchiha are not cute," Itachi muttered and shook his head while he accepted the baby powder Sasuke pushed into his hand roughly.

The younger, dark haired man smirked at his comment.

Deidara beamed, completely ignoring his husband's comment – not that that surprised Sasuke. "He is, isn't he? I can't get over how adorable he is! Just like Akihito."

"Dad, I'm not adorable," Akihito whined.

Sasuke would have been more inclined to believe his protest if the boy hadn't been pouting rather cutely.

Naruto chuckled and ruffled the young boy's hair. "Of course not, Akihito-kun, you're very manly," he reassured him and Akihito stared at him as if he was trying to figure out whether he had been complimented or insulted.

Sasuke had to stifle a chuckle.

"I was already wondering when you would show up," Deidara smiled when Naruto chose to sit next to him on the couch.

"I would have visited sooner, but I had to mark the projects of my students," Naruto grumbled annoyed. "That's the downside of teaching."

"Did you follow Sasuke with your car or …"

"He drove with me in my car," Sasuke answered and sank down next to Naruto, before Itachi could have the brilliant idea of stealing his seat. "Smart guy here didn't drive to the supermarket," he couldn't help but add teasingly.

"The weather didn't look that bad when I left," Naruto insisted and pursed his lips.

Sasuke became aware of how close he was sitting to the blond and instead of shifting away, he casually pressed his thigh closer to Naruto's. The younger man stilled for a few seconds, but didn't pull away.

That had to mean something, right?

"Where is Gaara-jisan?" Akihito asked curiously. Most of his attention, however, was directed at the plate containing chocolate biscuits; he was obviously waiting for the right moment to grab one.

Gaara? _Who was that?_

"Ah, he's meeting with an important client now, but he's going to visit you next weekend," Naruto replied in a reassuring tone.

_Ah, that must be the name of his mate_ , Sasuke realised and blinked bemused. This Gaara-san must be a pretty frequent visitor for Akihito to ask after his whereabouts and yet Sasuke had never heard of him before now. Granted, it wasn't like he spent that much time with his nephew, but still …

A faint 'beep' sound alerted them all to the fact that the microwave had finished warming up the bottle of milk and Itachi left the room to retrieve it while Deidara adjusted his youngest son so he could tie a pale green bib around his neck. If Shion was as messy as Akihito had been, they would need the bib to prevent his clothes from being ruined.

After having tested the temperature of the warm milk on his hand, Itachi handed the bottle to his blond husband, who instead of lowering it to Shion's mouth, held it up in front of Naruto.

"Do you want to feed him?" Deidara suggested grinning; his light blue eyes twinkling merrily.

"Are you sure?" Naruto asked surprised.

Sasuke was equally surprised; Deidara was quite protective over his children and he hadn't let anyone feed Akihito until the boy was almost four months old.

"Of course!" Deidara chirped and without even giving the younger blond a chance to refuse, he carefully placed Shion in Naruto's arms and helped him adjust the baby's head. "Can't have your feeding a baby skills becoming rusty you know." He winked.

Naruto rolled his eyes good-naturedly, but he accepted the heated bottle without further protest. He pressed it softly against the small, pouty lips until Shion decided he was hungry enough to open his mouth and he started sucking greedily.

Cerulean blue eyes were fixated on the noisily drinking baby and Sasuke couldn't help but study the picture the two made. Shion's hair was a shade darker than Deidara's, but his dark eyes were the same as Itachi – the same as most Uchiha. Naruto looked quite natural holding the baby while feeding him and unbidden the thought crossed Sasuke's mind that Naruto would look exactly like that if _they_ had a child together. Without being conscious of it, he bent towards the Omega and let the sweet scent cloud his mind a bit while he examined the wistful look on the blond's face – a look he probably wasn't aware of that he was displaying.

The Alpha could easily imagine them both sitting in his house; Naruto nursing their baby while he sat next to him.

He became aware of blue eyes peering up at him and he let his own dark eyes travel from Naruto's face to Shion's. He couldn't supress a snort when he noticed the almost empty state of the bottle.

"Looks like he has your appetite, Deidara," he smirked and tapped softly on the nearly empty bottle.

Deidara huffed in response and threw him a scowl. "He just has a healthy appetite," he sniffed in defence of his greedy son and caressed the baby's head carefully as to not disturb his drinking. A mischievous grin unfurled on his face and Sasuke stiffened a bit. He knew his brother-in-law long enough to have grown wary of such a grin. He was proven right by Deidara's next remark. "You have to admit, though, that if you don't know who his parents are, Shion could easily be mistaken for your kid together with Naruto."

_Ah, so Deidara had noticed the similarities_. While Sasuke merely blinked, not ruffled in the slightest, Naruto's cheeks filled with a deep blush and he glanced away almost shyly, ignoring the gleeful smile adorning the older blond's face. Sasuke didn't think he would ever get enough of the way the deep rose blushes filled Naruto's face.

"Oh please, we all know that a baby of us two would be more gorgeous than yours," he retorted airily and in a fit of courage, his arm slipped around Naruto's shoulders; his hand came to rest casually on his slender arm.

Naruto did freeze at his bold move, but to Sasuke's relief and piqued interest, he didn't seem inclined to move away. He merely tipped the bottle a bit so that Shion would have less trouble drinking all his milk.

"That beauty would most likely be cancelled out by Naruto-kun's clumsiness," Itachi interjected with a smirk, but Sasuke caught his brief look of warning.

He valiantly ignored the look and kept his arm around the Omega. He had made his decision and he would hold on to that one; no matter how risky it was.

"Oh, shut up," Naruto shot back, scowling at Itachi. He looked like he wanted to say a couple of other specific things, but most likely the presence of the two children held him in check. He leant forwards to put the empty bottle on the table and gave Deidara a grateful smile when he placed a towel on his shoulder – thereby forcing Sasuke to remove his arm if he wanted to avoid getting spit on by Shion.

He felt actually a bit bereft at that. God, he really was into it too deep.

"Good boy," Naruto murmured when Shion burped softly after having his back patted.

"When are you and Gaara-jisan going to have a baby, Naruto-niisan?" Akihito asked out of the blue.

Naruto, who had been in the process of handing Shion back to his dad, froze and shook his head after a short tense moment. The smile on his face when he turned to face a curious Akihito was painful to watch, as it was clear that he was attempting to look cheerful.

"Ah well, maybe soon. Something like that takes time," he chuckled weakly.

Fortunately Sasuke managed to keep his grimace hidden, but he gazed at Naruto in concern. Akihito couldn't know that conceiving was a sensitive issue for the blond, of course, but it must have hurt to hear the boy so casually asking after it.

Before either one of them could change the subject, a phone suddenly rang loudly and Naruto threw them an apologetic smile as he took his phone out of his pocket and walked to the hallway.

Akihito seemed to have decided that it was now time to interrogate his uncle. "Sasuke-jisan, when are you going to have a baby?" Big, dark eyes gazed imploringly at him.

A thin, dark eyebrow rose up. "When I have a mate," Sasuke answered calmly.

A frown marred Akihito's forehead. "When will you have a mate?"

"Akihito," Deidara spoke sharply. "That's none of your business."

"As soon as I ask out the person," Sasuke replied smoothly and ignored the heavy stare of his older brother.

Deidara shifted his attention from his pouting son to Sasuke. "Wait, are you interested in someone now?" he asked amazed.

"Yes, I am," Sasuke said easily and then his attention was drawn to Naruto's murmured conversation in the hallway. "Excuse me for a moment."

Before anyone could protest or hold him back, he stood up and walked to the doorway leading to the hallway. Leaning against the threshold, he gazed at Naruto, who had the remnants of a blush on his cheekbones.

"Sasuke-san brought me," Naruto spoke to whomever was calling him. "I helped him find something for Deidara in the supermarket and he offered to take me to Deidara's house."

A short pause while the blond listened to the person on the other end.

"Okay." Naruto breathed out slowly and lowered his phone; a look of apprehension lurking in his eyes.

"You need to go home?" Sasuke inquired curiously.

Naruto spun around to face him; his eyes wide. "Shit! You scared me!" he exclaimed startled. "Yeah, Gaara's meeting ended sooner than he expected, so he's coming home. He'll pick me up here."

"Ah, so I'll finally be able to meet your elusive mate," Sasuke murmured and his lips twitched faintly in a bitter smile.

Naruto eyed him cautiously, but didn't reply and returned to the living room. Sasuke gazed at his retreating back in contemplation and remained standing in the hallway for a little while longer. He wasn't certain how he felt about the upcoming meeting; he would finally see who Naruto's mate was and he wondered what kind of person he would turn out to be.

_Either way_ , he mused when he joined his family again, _it doesn't really matter. Whether I'll like him or not, I'm not going to retreat._

* * *

The doorbell ringing loud and clear through the house announced the arrival of Naruto's mysterious mate and Naruto stood up with a smile.

"Sounds like my ride is here," he chuckled and ruffled through Akihito's hair, ignoring his protest. "Be good to your brother, Akihito-kun. And you," he turned towards Deidara, "don't overwork yourself," he reminded the older blond sternly.

Deidara chuckled. "I won't, Naruto-kun. I'll see you soon again."

"What, no goodbye to me?" Itachi remarked dryly.

"Don't trip over your enormous ego," Naruto shot back with a shit eating grin and then left the room before Itachi could form a reply.

"I'll help Naruto-san with loading his groceries into Gaara-san's car," Sasuke murmured and escaped before his brother could get a hold of him.

"Sasuke-san?" Naruto said surprised when he looked up from tying his shoelaces.

Sasuke offered him a faint smile. "Your groceries are still in my car. I'll help you load them over," he offered and grabbed his jacket.

"Oh right, thanks," Naruto grinned and after shrugging on his jacket, he opened the door.

A couple of feet away from the door, a red haired man around Naruto's height was waiting with his arms crossed in front of his chest. He was still clad in a grey suit and he practically screamed authority.

Cold, jade green eyes turned towards Sasuke when he followed the blond outside.

"Naruto," the man murmured and his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Gaara, this is my doctor, Sasuke-san," Naruto informed him lightly. "Sasuke-san, this is my mate, Gaara."

Neither Alpha reached out to shake hands. Both were studying each other warily and tension was quickly growing between them. Sasuke was itching to knock off the arrogant sneer of Gaara's face; this was Naruto's mate? He knew that his family was often described as cold, but Gaara seemed to imitate an icicle. How had someone as warm as Naruto ended up with such a cold man? It didn't make any sense. Sure, there was that saying of opposites attracting each other, but …

"Naruto told me you are helping us trying to have a baby," Gaara broke the tense silence stiffly. His jade green eyes were alight with fire. "Thank you for that." His gratitude sounded incredibly forced, as if he wanted nothing more than to attack the dark haired man.

If Gaara wanted a fight, Sasuke would gladly oblige him. He hadn't had an urge to fight someone this badly since he met Suigetsu for the first time and the idiot had taunted him.

"It's my pleasure. After all, Naruto-san deserves to have what he wants," he smiled sharply and was certain that his eyes were flashing up with the reddish hue every Uchiha had when their emotions ran high.

The unspoken message of what Sasuke really meant hung heavily in the air and Naruto looked nervously between them; obviously confused by the icy atmosphere between the two Alpha.

Gaara's fingers twitched against his jacket. "That's true," he murmured and a dark smile swept across his face. "We're working on that."

Tension coiled like a lead ball in his stomach and a growl was growing in his throat. The other man was clearly taunting him and the urge to punch him grew worse. The suggestions of the Alpha inside of him of what he could do to the other man didn't particularly help his self-restraint either.

"All right, it's getting quite cold, so why don't you help me load the groceries into Gaara's car, Sasuke-san?" Naruto spoke loudly in an attempt to diffuse the tense situation.

Black eyes shifted from Gaara to Naruto's anxious face and Sasuke forced himself to relax his stance as to not scare the Omega more.

"Sure, let's go," he replied, but hints of a growl still made their way through his voice.

They made quick work of loading Naruto's groceries into Gaara's car; the blond conveniently remained between the two Alpha the entire time, preventing the two from having the brawl they so desperately wanted to have.

Gaara stepped into the car without another glance at Sasuke – which suited the dark haired man just fine – but Naruto offered him a tentative smile.

"I'll see you in a couple of days," he murmured.

"Yes, goodbye." Sasuke inclined his head and only retreated back to the warm house when the car left with screeching tires.

Itachi accosted him as soon as he closed the door behind him. "What on earth was going through your head that you thought provoking Gaara-san was a good idea?" he hissed and his dark eyes flashed up in annoyance.

"I wasn't provoking him," Sasuke retorted coolly and removed his jacket again, slipping his feet into his house slippers. "I merely met him."

"I don't know what the hell you're planning, Otouto, but you need to be more careful," Itachi insisted. "Don't you think I've noticed how your smell _changes_ whenever you're around Naruto-kun? I thought I had warned you!"

Sasuke leant into his personal space and bared his teeth. "If you have noticed that my smell changes, pay more attention to Naruto-san. I'm not certain what's going on, but whatever it is, it's not only affecting me," he whispered with a slight bite in his voice. He had been suspecting it for a while, but just now he had received his confirmation. When Naruto was around him alone, the sweet smell surrounding him seemed to blast off of him. The moment other people approached them, his smell was more tempered as his attention was no longer fully directed at the Alpha.

Sasuke wasn't certain yet what exactly it all meant, but he did know that at a certain level Naruto felt attracted to him. How much, the Alpha had no clue yet, but it was a start.

It was something he could hang on to.

It was something that let him know that his feelings had a chance of being returned.

"So what? You're going to _steal_ him from Gaara-san?" Itachi asked incredulously.

"Steal?" Sasuke scoffed and leant back, scowling at his brother. "Naruto-san is not an object that you can take away. No, I'm not planning on stealing anything." He turned around to go back to Deidara and his two nephews.

"But you're not giving up either, are you?" Itachi asked exhausted to his retreating back.

Sasuke turned his head. "I've made a mistake with her six years ago, but this time it's completely different," he murmured.

"I hope for your sake it is, Sasuke," Itachi spoke softly and shook his head.

Sasuke appreciated his brother's concern, he really did, but it was unnecessary. He wasn't about to make the same mistake he had made seven years ago.

This time it was completely different.

* * *

A couple of days later Sasuke was impatiently waiting for his first patient to show up. Naruto had managed to get the earliest hour for once and the dark haired man could barely concentrate on the paperwork of all the patients he had scheduled for today. Now that he was relatively certain that the blond was attracted to him, he wondered how to proceed. Like he had assured Itachi, he wasn't planning on stealing Naruto – that was such an awful word; it made it sound as if Naruto was nothing but a possession to be passed on and he recoiled from such an insinuation – but there was nothing wrong with encouraging him, right?

For now, though, he would need to keep a lid on his feelings; they were back to their roles as doctor and patient and he couldn't slip up. No matter what happened, he wouldn't let his personal feelings interfere with his work.

As soon as his watch showed that it was nine o'clock, he stood up and walked to the door; ignoring how butterflies rampaged in his stomach. The moment he opened the door, Naruto walked into the waiting room with cheeks flushed from the cold wind outside.

"Ah, you're right on time," Sasuke smiled and beckoned him closer. "You can come in now."

"Good morning," Naruto murmured and followed him inside his office. The gloves that covered his hands were stuffed into the pockets of his jacket.

"All right, today we're going to find out whether the hormone treatment has worked or not," Sasuke announced briskly and opened the second drawer of a cabinet placed right behind his desk. He rummaged through it and retrieved the small box he needed. "Before I take your blood pressure and draw some blood again, you need to take this pregnancy test. Have you taken one recently?"

The Alpha inside of him growled and his hand automatically clenched around the box. It took him a couple of seconds to calm down before he could turn around again. _Stay professional_ , he reminded himself sternly.

"Ah? Ah no, the last one I took was almost three weeks ago. Since then I haven't taken any," Naruto answered and fiddled with his fingers uneasily. His whole body practically screamed tension and weariness and his clear blue eyes reflected his nervous state.

Sasuke nodded in understanding and handed over the pregnancy test. "You can take this one; there's a small bathroom right behind you." He pointed at the door which was half hidden by the privacy screen. "While we wait for the result, I'll take your blood pressure and draw some blood."

The Omega nodded and accepted the package with a trembling hand. "Thanks," he mumbled with downcast eyes and he marched over to the bathroom rather stiffly.

Sasuke tore his eyes away after the door closed behind the blond and sat down again. Tapping his pen against his desk, he frowned while he considered all the information he had gathered thus far about Naruto. When an Omega was expecting a baby, their scent changed a bit until they smelt faintly like sweet milk. Naruto's scent hadn't changed at all since he started having appointments with Sasuke, but the doctor reminded himself that the scent of a pregnant Omega only started to change after two months. Naruto could be pregnant now, but not having passed the two month mark yet, his scent wouldn't have changed.

He _did_ smell quite fertile – something that his Alpha side had trouble ignoring - , though, so at least the hormone treatment had not missed its effect.

Running a hand through his hair, he threw down his pen and leant back into his chair, staring at the ceiling thoughtfully. If Naruto wasn't pregnant again, what on earth could they try out then? The hormone treatment was basically the last resort. If that treatment didn't work out, it usually meant that the chance of a pregnancy would never happen.

That was what bothered Sasuke; if the problem lied within Naruto, the Omega shouldn't be able to smell so fertile. So what exactly was keeping the blond from conceiving?

He shook his head and let out a soft sigh. It was useless to start speculating already. He didn't know yet that the treatment had failed; in fact, considering the strong dosage, it was highly probable that Naruto would leave this office with a joyful smile on his face.

That thought left a bitter taste behind in his mouth, but he reminded himself that in the first place he was still Naruto's doctor. It was his duty to make certain that Naruto's issue was solved. His personal feelings had to stay out of this.

The sound of rushing water alerted him to the fact that Naruto was almost finished and he straightened his back, putting on a mask of neutrality.

As tightly wound as a spring, Naruto made his way back to his chair; he looked paler than when he had entered the office.

"Take a seat; I'll take your blood pressure now," Sasuke informed him calmly and gathered the blood pressure monitor from the top drawer of another cabinet. He clasped it around Naruto's bared arm and started pumping while keeping an eye on his watch. "Have you heard what Akihito did a couple of days ago?" he asked casually to break the tense silence.

Naruto chuckled and it sounded less tense than the Alpha thought it would. "Yeah, he somehow managed to exchange Kisame-san's shampoo for hair dye, right? I heard the big guy wasn't happy with that."

"Who would? He looks quite fabulous with the bright pink hair, though," Sasuke smirked and removed the blood pressure monitor after it was deflated from all air. A sound of satisfaction escaped him at the result. "Your blood pressure is normal. Let me take some blood now."

"Did Kisame-san piss off Akihito-kun or so?" Naruto inquired curiously and held out his arm obediently so that Sasuke could locate a good vein to draw blood from and fill three small vials.

"No clue. Maybe he tried to steal some of his chocolate cookies. You know how protective the brat is of them," Sasuke replied dryly. Actually he suspected it had something to do with the fact that Kisame had dared to make fun of a painting that hung in Akihito's room. Sasuke didn't know the details, but Akihito tended to have quite a mean streak of revenge when someone dared to insult something he considered to be his. After withdrawing the needle, he pressed a cotton ball against the small puncture wound. "Keep pressure on this."

"Itachi apparently accused me of being a bad influence," Naruto commented amused and removed his finger when Sasuke put a bandage on the small wound. With Sasuke bending slightly to place the bandage on him, he was in a good position to hear Naruto inhale deeply and he wondered whether he was feeling a bit light headed.

"I heard that, yeah. I doubt he'll do much to you, though, because he fears Deidara's wrath. Not to mention I would be quite annoyed if he tried to harm one of the very few people I can actually stand." Sasuke winked and turned around to deposit the thin vials into the appropriate holders.

No harm in giving the Omega a subtle complement. It gave him the satisfaction of seeing a blush colour Naruto's pale cheeks.

"You can take a look at the test now. Let me know what the result is so that we can discuss what you need to do after this appointment," Sasuke murmured when he realised that more than enough time had passed for the result to show up on the stick.

All colour seemed to leave Naruto's face. "Right, I'll – I'll go check now," he stammered and returned to the bathroom in a rather wobbly manner.

Sasuke bit his lip and leant against his desk; a sudden wave of exhaustion falling over him. This was it now; now they would know whether the treatment had worked or not. If Naruto turned out to be pregnant, he knew he would lose the miniscule chance he had at winning the blond as his mate. What would he do then, he wondered, if such a thing occurred? Would he be able to handle all the upcoming check-ups without resentment festering inside of him? Would he be able to keep his feelings hidden once he saw Naruto's stomach growing with that man's child inside of him?

Itachi was right: he was a fool to fall in love with Naruto, given the circumstances. But he couldn't help it; he was hopelessly drawn towards the Omega and he doubted his feelings would disappear any time soon. If anything they seemed to grow worse with every passing week.

He really was in a lot of trouble.

A noise that sounded vaguely like a choked sob caused him to lift his head and without thinking twice, he quickly made his way to the bathroom. He knocked on the closed door.

"Naruto-san?" he called out concerned. It occurred to him that more than five minutes had passed without the blond leaving the bathroom. Checking a result shouldn't take that long.

When he didn't receive an answer, he grew worried and opened the door hastily. His heart squeezed painfully in his chest when his eyes fell upon the violently shaking form of Naruto, who was seated on the toilet with the pregnancy stick clenched into his hand.

Long, blond strands fell in front of blue eyes, but even from his position, Sasuke noticed the sheen of tears that threatened to spill out. Somehow he doubted that those tears would be from happiness.

Naruto jumped up when Sasuke placed a hand on his shoulder and pain filled those warm, blue eyes when they looked at him.

"What's the result?" he asked softly, but he knew it was a pointless question.

Naruto opened his hand, displaying the negative symbol and smiled bitterly. "Negative again," he choked out.

Sasuke took the test out of his hand and the Omega pressed his fists against his eyes; presumably to hold his tears at bay. Sasuke checked a sigh and ran a hand through his hair; he placed the stick back on the sink soundlessly. Even though this negative result meant that his feelings still harboured a small chance of being returned, the pain and sorrow etched onto Naruto's face made it impossible for the dark haired man to be happy about it. It was clear that the blond was devastated by the result and Sasuke felt for him. He couldn't imagine how hard it must be to cope with the fact that there was no pregnancy again. No baby that would be growing and being born after nine months.

Naruto suddenly rose up on shaky legs and he clasped his hands together; he seemed to refuse to meet Sasuke's eyes. "Le-let's go back t-to your office. Is there may-maybe something else I can …"

Sasuke couldn't bear to see Naruto trying to present a strong façade in front of him any longer. Stepping forwards, he wrapped his arms around the shaking Omega, pulling him flush against his chest.

"No need to hold back; I'm not going to judge you," he told the other man softly. "You can cry if you need to."

"I – I'm not … I don't n-need to cry, b-bastard," Naruto spluttered distressed, but Sasuke could practically see the tears building up in those lovely eyes and knew it wouldn't be long anymore before the blond broke down. Still, the Omega tried to put up a fight, pressing his hands against Sasuke's chest in a weak attempt to push him away, but the Alpha simply tightened his embrace and rubbed over Naruto's back with one hand.

"Naruto, you don't need to keep up a façade. Just let it out," he murmured encouragingly.

Naruto tried to hold back for a little longer, struggled for a moment longer, before he finally broke down when Sasuke didn't loosen his embrace at all. Loud, anguished sobs tore through the bathroom while shaking hands buried themselves in his shirt and Naruto hid his face in Sasuke's shoulder, dampening the cloth with his salty tears.

"I – I don't kn-know what's wrong with me," Naruto brought out between sobs. "I – I th-thought I was pre-prepared for the result an-and told myself not to-to hope too much, bu-but I st-still thought the tr-treatment had worked. Wh-why can't I have a – a baby?"

"We'll figure something out, I promise," Sasuke whispered into his ear while his hand kept caressing Naruto's back. He started to rock them back and forth while Naruto continued to cry; the comforting was not to make the blond stop crying – he needed to let it out, he deserved to let it out after so much frustration. No, the Alpha simply wanted to let him know he was there for him. The whole time Sasuke didn't let up on his embrace; the tears of sorrow tugged at his heart and made him curse whatever it was that kept the sweet Omega from having a baby. It made him wonder what cruel being decided to give people, clearly unfit to be parents, children while others, who would be wonderful parents, were left to suffer through endless negative results.

But no matter what, he would make certain that Naruto ended up having a baby. The Omega deserved to be happy and Sasuke would do everything in his power to bring a smile back on his beautiful face.

Eventually Naruto ran out of tears and he pulled back with an embarrassed laugh. "I'm sorry," he said and looked up; a flush painting his cheeks rose. "I swear that I normally don't …"

Once again Sasuke was struck by how beautiful the Omega looked. Even with red rimmed, swollen eyes, red splotches on his cheeks and the tip of his nose a cherry red colour, he still was the most beautiful man Sasuke had ever seen. His large, ocean blue eyes stared up at him in wonder and something deep inside of those mysterious eyes was stirring and the desire to know what was going through that mind grew with each passing second.

His heart thumped heavily inside his chest and he wondered foolishly whether the other man could hear it.

His eyes dropped from glittering eyes, still shiny with the residue of tears, to pouty, light red lips, which slightly opened underneath his attentive gaze. Heat stirred inside of him, coiled in his belly, and the urge to kiss the Omega, to press his own lips against those luscious, light red ones grew stronger.

The sweet, seductive scent being emanated from the blond called out to him, drew him closer and he brought a hand up to place it on Naruto's warm cheek. Softly he tilted Naruto's head back and those intense, blue eyes never broke contact; the Omega didn't pull away either to his joy and simply allowed the dark haired man to tilt his head back. His thumb caressing the sharp – but soft to the touch – cheekbone, he bent his head towards Naruto. Naruto's scent seemed to intensify when he decreased the distance between them; it was a heady smell, which overpowered his sense and made his movements sluggish as it created a pleasant daze. Was this how people felt when they used drugs?

"Naruto, I …" Sasuke whispered and brought his face closer.

Almost, their lips were _almost_ touching. He could already feel warm breath caressing his mouth; he just needed to press a bit closer. Almost there …

"Uchiha-sensei, I have a client here, waiting to pick up a prescription," Karin called out; her voice ringing loud and clear through the silent office.

The spell between the two men broke abruptly, like glass shattering in a million pieces.

Naruto jumped backwards in alarm, ripping himself free from Sasuke's touch and the Alpha cursed savagely underneath his breath. This wasn't supposed to happen! Fuck, he had almost crossed a dangerous boundary. He needed to clear his mind; kissing Naruto now was far too dangerous.

"I- I'll be right back." He cleared his throat and walked briskly towards his desk, leaving the blond behind in the bathroom, visibly mortified. Sasuke prayed his own cheeks weren't as heated as they felt like.

Still scolding himself severely, he snatched the needed prescription out of the middle drawer and hurried towards the reception, where the red haired woman was waiting patiently. How could he have been this stupid? He had almost lost control back there; he couldn't afford to lose control.

And yet, he couldn't help but take notice of the fact that Naruto had never once pulled away until Karin had interrupted them. What did that mean? Had Naruto welcomed the almost the kiss? Why? He was together with Gaara; there was no reason for him to want to kiss Sasuke back.

His thoughts caught in a maelstrom and his stomach flipping over itself, he made his way back to the bathroom uncomfortably. He cleared his throat to announce his presence and felt slightly guilty when Naruto visibly startled. Wide eyes stared at him.

"Sorry for that," he said uncomfortably. Whether he was apologising for nearly overstepping his boundaries or for leaving the blond behind for a short moment, he had no clue. It only seemed the right thing to say to break the tense silence. "Let's discuss what we are going to do about your predicament."

Yes, go back to the main issue. Focus on that and not on the fact that Naruto's mouth still looked very kissable.

"All right," Naruto mumbled and followed him back to his desk.

"All the tests we've done all conclude the same thing: you are fertile and thus should not have any problems conceiving," Sasuke spoke; his eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. He adopted a brisk, business like tone; he couldn't afford to become distracted now. Naruto was still _his patient_ and it was his duty to take care of him. His pen tapped on a paper in agitation. "Yet, the hormone treatment has not worked. There has to be something that we're overlooking."

Naruto kept quiet, shifting a bit on his chair.

There had to be something that they hadn't tried yet. If Naruto didn't have fertility issues, then how …

Of course. He could almost smack himself for his stupidity; how come he hadn't thought of this sooner?

"How about your mate, Gaara-san?" Sasuke questioned. If Naruto wasn't the problem, then naturally the fertility issue had to lie with Gaara. There was no other explanation. Naruto was highly fertile – he should by all accounts be pregnant right now. That he wasn't … Sasuke could only think of the possibility that Gaara was the one having issues. It was the only thing that made sense now.

Naruto blinked surprised, taken aback. "What about Gaara?" he asked surprised.

"Is he taking any medication that could prevent you from getting pregnant? Did he have an accident in the past that could cause him to have trouble impregnating you?" Sasuke explained his odd inquiry. Excitement was growing inside of him; he thought he had finally figured out Naruto's issue. If Naruto was fertile, then it was normal to assume that Gaara was having issues – or doing something to cause their issue.

Sasuke didn't want to think badly of the man – there had to be a reason why Naruto had chosen him after all – but there was still that possibility that the red haired man was doing something to prevent himself from impregnating the blond Omega. If that was the cause, the question remained why he was doing such a thing.

Gaara doing something to prevent pregnancy didn't make much sense, he had to admit that, but it was still a possibility.

"What? No, of course he's not taking any medicine! He agreed to have children with me, so he wouldn't be taking any medicine that would prevent that. I've never even seen him taking medicine," Naruto scoffed, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Clearly he didn't appreciate the thought that something could be affecting his partner. "And if he had had an accident, he would have told me about it."

"Has he been examined?" Sasuke asked. He wasn't about to let go of this new idea. Something being wrong with Gaara was the only explanation that made sense.

"No, he doesn't like visiting doctors," Naruto explained stiffly.

_How fucking convenient._

Sasuke sighed and rubbed over his eyes. "Look, I'm not attacking your mate or insulting him. But every test has concluded that you are fertile enough that you should be able to get pregnant without any trouble. That you are still having trouble, means that something else must be going on. Talk to your mate and convince him to let himself be examined. If he prefers someone else than me, I can give you the address of a colleague of mine."

Naruto looked doubtful at him.

"Either your mate has no problems and then we can try something else like IVF or he does have a problem and then we can try to find out how to work around that," Sasuke retorted calmly. "Be honest: what do you have to lose?"

"Nothing," Naruto answered begrudgingly. "I'll talk to him about it once he's back home."

"Let me know whether he wants to be examined by me or by my colleague," Sasuke told him. He didn't like the other Alpha at all, but for Naruto, he was prepared to be professional. He very much doubted that the red haired man would subject to an examination done by him, but he wasn't about to act petty. And even if Gaara decided he wanted to be examined by his colleague, Sasuke would still get the needed information.

After Naruto agreed, he departed after offering him an awkward smile.

Sasuke stared out of his window thoughtfully, while he tapped his pen against his desk. He thought he was very close to solving Naruto's problem. Either something was physically wrong with Gaara, which prevented him from impregnating his partner, or the man was actively doing something to prevent a pregnancy from happening for whatever fucked up reason he had.

For Naruto's sake, Sasuke hoped it was the first possibility. Naruto didn't deserve to have his partner lying to him and keeping him from having a baby.

And yet, he couldn't shake off the dark feeling of foreboding slumbering in the back of his mind.

No matter how much he despised the red haired Alpha, he didn't want Naruto to get hurt.

But pain would be inevitable, he mused darkly, no matter which possibility ended up being the truth.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: I'm really glad to see so many people enjoying this story :D
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and the comments!
> 
> Warnings: lime; light drama
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto owns it.
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy this chapter!
> 
> Three more chapters to go and then this story is finished as well :) I can already tell you that the omake will be compiled into another story; more information about that will appear later on.
> 
> Please leave your thoughts behind in a review. Should you spot any mistake, please point them out to me.
> 
> Next week university will start again for me, but fear not: this story has been completed so the updates will stay regular ^^
> 
> See you all in the next chapter!

_Chapter 5_

Two weeks went by without a call of Naruto and Sasuke could only deduce from that that either Naruto hadn't discussed the suggestion of an examination with Gaara yet or he had and he was trying to convince the Alpha to actually go through with it.

Not that he had much time to contemplate why exactly there hadn't been a call yet; he was swamped with work: both with examining patients and paperwork and he usually arrived home very late. The only contact he had with his family during those weeks was through phone as he simply couldn't take time off to drive over to his brother and his family.

Valentine's day went by in a rush of meeting patients, dodging Karin's attempts to ask him out and throwing several cards and chocolates in the trash bin. For ten stupid minutes he had entertained the thought of delivering a box of chocolates – the best, of course, none of that supermarket stuff – to Naruto before he realised that that would be a very idiotic thing to do. He knew he was on thin ice now and he didn't want to risk pushing the blond away.

* * *

A couple of days after Valentine's day, it was another rainy day. It was also the first day when he only had three patients scheduled, which after such a heavy workload was something he appreciated. He loved doing his work, but even he needed to rest sometimes.

Either Itachi had somehow got his hands on his schedule – which honestly wouldn't surprise him – or he just had a freaky sense of good timing, but in between the two last patients, he called Sasuke.

"At least you're still alive," Itachi greeted him dryly as soon as he picked up.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "We talked three days ago," he pointed out with a grumble and dragged the file of his third patient towards him.

"And in three days a lot can happen."

"Is there a particular reason you're calling me now or do you just like wasting my time?"

"A new art exhibition had opened up in town. Deidara wonders whether you're interested in joining us this afternoon," Itachi replied, for once not beating around the bush.

The pen paused right above the paper. "And deal with two brats fussing? No thanks," Sasuke snorted.

While he wasn't particularly interested in art like his brother-in-law, he did appreciate it – when there were no screaming brats around who ruined the atmosphere, that is.

"Mother and father are babysitting both for today," Itachi said and there was some noise in the background as if he was browsing through some papers. "So there won't be any 'fussing'. Now are you interested?"

"Whether or not I'm interested – hasn't Deidara already decided that I will be joining you?" Sasuke sighed and closed the file.

The smirk was audible when his brother answered, "Well, he was planning on calling you to convince you if I failed to do so."

"Your mate is a nuisance," Sasuke informed him idly and took a sip of his bottled water.

"He just appreciates family time."

"Uh huh," Sasuke retorted sarcastically. "Fine, I'll join you."

"We'll come pick you up."

"What, afraid I won't show up?"

"You never know," Itachi retorted dryly. "We'll be at your place at five."

"Who says I …" Sasuke stared incredulously at his phone, which was letting out the typical 'Beep, beep' to announce Itachi had ended the call. "Bastard," he muttered darkly and then stood up to welcome his last patient of the day.

* * *

At three fifteen, Sasuke logged off and shut down his computer; grabbing his jacket on his way to the door. He had given Karin permission to leave after her lunch break was over and as there were no other patients scheduled for today, he decided that he might as well leave and unwind a bit before his brother and his brother-in-law came to get him for the art exhibition.

Rain started to trickle down when he had been driving for barely five minutes and he sighed, turning on the blade wipers. He was becoming quite sick of the many rainy days they were having; he couldn't wait for spring to start, so that he didn't need to wonder every day whether he needed to carry his umbrella with him.

A flash of blond further down the street caught his attention and he narrowed his eyes. Wait, was that …

Yes, it was. What on earth was he doing here in the rain with no jacket? Even if he didn't get ill easily, it wasn't exactly recommended to walk around without proper protection against the cold wind and rain.

Flabbergasted, Sasuke brought his car to the sidewalk and pressed the car's horn. Naruto jumped startled and whirled around; blond strands sticking to his forehead.

Hastily he lowered the window and blue eyes widened when they recognized him. "Naruto-san? What are you doing here?" he questioned and his eyes roved over the shivering form of Naruto, whose clothes were beginning to stick to his body, showing off his form clearly. "Why aren't you wearing a jacket?"

"I … Gaara and I – we had a fight and I, I left," Naruto replied in a small voice and wrapped his arms around himself.

Sasuke blinked, a bit taken aback that Naruto would freely admit what had happened. He appeared to be a bit dazed and judging by the helpless look he had when he looked around, the Alpha was fairly certain that the blond had no idea where exactly he was – leaving him with no way to go home again.

Well, there was no way he would leave the blond stranded here. This wasn't a rough neighbourhood, but still, letting him stay in the rain for god knew how long would be bad.

"Get in the car; I'll drive you home. This is not exactly weather for walking," Sasuke suggested. He still had some time before his brother would show up anyway.

"No, thank you. I'm … I don't really want to go back yet," Naruto admitted begrudgingly and glanced away embarrassed.

"Come on then; you can stay at my place for a while," Sasuke offered and stepped out of his car. Butterflies started to flutter in his stomach and he reminded himself firmly that he was just helping Naruto out. Taking him to his house and letting him stay there until he felt ready to return home didn't mean anything.

"What? No, you don't have to …" Naruto started to protest and raised his hands. He blinked rapidly when a rain drop fell on his eyelashes.

"Naruto-san, come on. I'm not going to let you stay here and get sick," Sasuke sighed and walked to the other side of his car to open the door. Did Naruto seriously expect him to simply drive away and leave him here?

The blond looked ready to protest, but something in Sasuke's face must have told him that protest would be futile as he bit his lip, hesitated for a couple more seconds, and then approached Sasuke slowly; his shoes making a soft squishy sound against the pavement.

"Thanks," he muttered and lowered himself in the car. As always he carried his sweet, spicy scent around him, mixed with a hint of rain.

Shaking his head to clear his mind, Sasuke closed the door hastily and marched back to the driver's seat; shivering when a couple of cold rain drops managed to worm their way underneath his collar and slide down his warm skin. When he opened the door and sat down behind the wheel again, Naruto had his head resolutely turned towards the window; a small pout on his lips.

The rest of the drive to his house was mainly filled with music from the car radio. Sasuke was never one to instigate a conversation and the Omega next to him didn't seem in the mood to chatter. Most likely he was brooding about the fight he had had with Gaara and the dark haired man couldn't help but wonder what exactly the fight had been about. It must have been quite severe for Naruto to have left his home without even a jacket.

Although he kept his eyes on the road mostly, throughout the entire drive, he sneaked glances at the blond, trying to gauge his mood. The alluring scent was slowly filling the car, permeating the air and Sasuke was certain that it would take at least a week before the scent would leave the car. Not that he minded that.

After a while they left the medium sized townhouses behind and entered the part of the town where large estates had been built, fenced off by large, iron gates. They were nearly at his house.

"I thought you lived on the upper floor of your office," Naruto remarked out of the blue, breaking the peaceful silence.

"Hm?" It took Sasuke a bit to gather his thoughts. "No, the upper floors are rented to an old couple. I just use the ground floor for my office," he explained and took a right turn. "Separating private and professional life is much easier that way."

"Makes sense," Naruto murmured and quietened down again, turning his gaze back to the window.

Not long after that, they arrived at Sasuke's house. As soon as the car approached the closed gate, it opened automatically to let him enter. The sound of the rain hitting the roof was accompanied by the sound of gravel crunching underneath the tires when he drove onto the drive.

They stepped out of the car and were immediately assaulted by the cold rain. Seeing Naruto's eyes widen at the sight of his large house – though not as large as the Uchiha estate where he had grown up – he couldn't resist and asked teasingly, "You like the house?"

"It's beautiful," Naruto admitted to his surprise while his eyes trailed over the building. "But mostly big."

"I grew up in an estate and I always liked playing in the large rooms," Sasuke had no problem admitting as they hurried towards the building when the rain became heavier, turning into a downpour. The large rooms of the estate and the various options it gave him to hide when he played had been one of the few good memories of his childhood.

They both shivered when they entered the warm hallway. Thank god he had had the foresight to keep the central heating running.

"You can take a shower to warm up," Sasuke announced when he saw how tightly the wet clothes clung to Naruto. He resembled a drowned cat more than a human being at this point. He beckoned him to follow. "I'll lend you some clothes of mine so that yours can wash and dry."

The added bonus of having Naruto smell faintly like him and the mental image of him wrapped in his clothes was something he deftly ignored.

Naturally Naruto couldn't simply accept his offer with a gracious 'thank you'. "You don't need to do that!" he protested immediately and waved his hands frantically.

The Alpha was starting to contemplate whether it was only his help that Naruto protested against. Couldn't the blond simply accept his offer?

"Are we really going to do this every time I offer you something?" he asked dryly and shook his head in slight exasperation. "Come on, it's just a shower and a change of clothes."

"If you insist," Naruto muttered gracelessly and Sasuke stifled a smile when the blond reluctantly followed him upstairs; his footsteps nearly drowned out by the sound of the heavy rain clattering against the windows.

They passed various paintings depicting scenes of nature before they arrived in front of the closed door of the bathroom.

"Here's the bathroom." Sasuke nodded. "Wait here; I'll grab some clothes quickly." Quickly he entered his bedroom and went straight towards his wardrobe. Rummaging through it, he selected some sweatpants that he thought would fit the blond, together with a long sleeved, grey shirt that he hadn't worn in quite a few months. After a moment of hovering in front of the drawers and hesitating, he shook his head wearily and grabbed a white boxer short. Judging by the way Naruto's clothes stuck to his skin, he was soaked to the bone and it would be uncomfortable for him to wait in wet underwear. He doubted that the blond would be willing to go commando, so his own underwear would have to do for now.

Taking the small pile of clothing from his bed, he returned to Naruto and handed it over to the blond, who regarded him cautiously.

"Thanks," Naruto murmured and slipped into the bathroom, taking his heavy scent with him.

After a couple of seconds of hovering in front of the closed door, he tsk'd and marched back to his room. With hasty, jerky motions, he rid himself of his shirt and trousers, which clung uncomfortably to his legs after the rain had soaked through it. His damp clothes were exchanged for a comfortable sweater and a pair of dark jeans and he relaxed when the smell of fresh detergent curled into his nose – momentarily removing every trace of Naruto's scent.

Gathering his damp clothes to put them in the washing machine, he hesitated for a couple of minutes until he sighed impatiently and slowly opened the door of the bathroom. Naruto's clothes needed to be washed and dried and he figured he had given the blond enough time to disrobe and get into the shower.

He was right. When he shuffled into the bathroom, the glass of his shower was completely fogged over already, due to the hot water, and when he bent down to gather the wet clothes he couldn't resist sneaking a peak. Naruto's body was mostly a blurred form through the fogged over glass, but he could make out tanned skin with drops of water sliding over it. His fingers twitched and the desire to join Naruto rose to such a dangerous degree that he hastily retreated, out of fear that he would do something stupid.

To distract himself from the vision of a naked Naruto underneath the shower spray – _completely wet and vulnerable_ – he took his time putting their clothes in the washing machine and almost shuffled into the kitchen to make some hot chocolate. He thought Naruto would appreciate drinking something warm and he had no patience to grind the coffee beans now.

Filling the two cups with hot chocolate milk, he carefully made his way to the living room, making certain not to spill even a drop. Chocolate stains would be a bitch to get out of the dark green carpet.

The ridiculous urge to fidget in the leather armchair struck him and Sasuke rolled his eyes at himself. God, he was acting like some teenager who had managed to get his crush inside his house. He needed to calm down before he did something really stupid.

Still … His eyes flickered to the ceiling. He had never expected to have Naruto in his house today. Or at all really.

The soft padding of feet on the staircase alerted him to Naruto's arrival and he put his drink down on the table. In a few strides he was at the closed, dark brown door and he opened it, noticing Naruto lingering in front of the stairs with a befuddled look on his face.

"I've made some hot chocolate to warm up," Sasuke smiled and his eyes casually roved over Naruto's body, enjoying the way his clothes hung around the lithe frame. He gestured at Naruto to follow him inside the room.

Naruto just loved being difficult it seemed, for he started to protest, "You shouldn't ha …"

Sasuke threw him a meaningful look with the underlying message to shut up and just accept the offer and the Omega smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his nearly dry hair. "Right, thanks."

Sasuke reclined back into his leather armchair and Naruto gingerly sat down on the dark couch. Blue eyes wandered across the room, taking in the furniture with curiosity lurking in his eyes, while he sipped from his drink.

"So," Sasuke decided to break the amicable silence. "Mind telling me why you and Gaara-san had a fight?"

Naruto visibly tensed up and with a sigh of exhaustion he placed his mug back on the table. Sasuke felt slightly guilty for rackling up the fight again, but the desire to know more about it didn't diminish. He desperately wanted to know what kind of fight could have driven the blond out of his own house.

Naruto rubbed his forehead and responded, "I finally asked him to let himself get examined, because all tests have concluded that I'm fine."

 _Ah_. That explained a lot. The fact that they actually had a fight about that didn't predict anything good. "I take it he wasn't very agreeable?" Sasuke asked softly and looked sympathetically at the other man. He had had a suspicion that Gaara would act quite difficult, but for Naruto's sake, he had hoped he was wrong.

"Not really, no," Naruto chuckled bitterly and stared at his sweatpants clad knee. "He absolutely refused to visit a doctor and said that nothing is wrong with him, so there's no need for an examination. I got angry at him for that and he told me that we should just be patient and that I shouldn't act so hysterical. I didn't want to stay there, so I left."

"Does he have an aversion against doctors? Maybe a bad experience?" Sasuke inquired curiously, cocking his head to the left. He had known people before who refused to visit a doctor due to earlier bad experiences. Although that still didn't excuse Gaara for refusing a simple request …

The blond shrugged. "I have no idea. I know he occasionally went to the doctor's before I met him, but since then he hasn't visited one. He doesn't get sick often either, aside from the occasional cold, so I never thought to ask why he doesn't like seeing a doctor. I just … thought that he would go to a doctor now, because he said he wanted a baby with me." He closed his eyes and a look of frustration crossed his face. Abruptly he stood up again and he started pacing back and forth; frustration slowly being overtaken by anger.

"I just don't understand why he won't let himself get examined!" he spat, raking a hand through his hair roughly. "He says he wants a baby with me, but he doesn't seem willing to do anything so that we would actually be able to get one! It's been seven months! Seven months and I'm still not pregnant. I just don't know what to do anymore."

"Maybe someone else can talk to him?" Sasuke suggested, placing his own mug on the table, while he watched the blond pacing with worried eyes. He wasn't fond at all of the red haired Alpha and would rearrange his face with pleasure for hurting the lovely Omega like that, but if Naruto asked, he would talk to him. Or he could ask his brother to talk to the stubborn bastard. Very few people were able to say no to his brother after all.

Naruto snorted harshly and halted in front of the couch. "We already had a fight, because I decided to see you for this problem. If someone else tries to talk to him about it, he'll probably only get more angry. He thinks people should stay out of our business." He shook his head and bit his lip. "I just … I'm starting to wonder whether he really wants a baby, you know? He doesn't seem to think that it's weird that we haven't conceived yet. He says that we should just be patient. But for how much longer do I need to be patient? I just want a baby with him." Blue eyes turned to look pleadingly at the dark haired Alpha. "What would you do if your mate couldn't conceive?"

The vulnerable look on Naruto's face made him reply before he had thought it through.

"If my mate had trouble conceiving, I would do anything I could to make sure that we would have a baby," Sasuke answered softly. "I would put my aversion to doctors aside if I really had to, if it meant that we could have a baby together." His answer wasn't a ploy to insert himself in Naruto's grace. He had never wanted a baby with his ex-girlfriend, but with Naruto he could easily imagine himself at least having two children with the blond. If Naruto was his mate and was having trouble conceiving, Sasuke would stop at nothing to get Naruto's wish fulfilled. He had no aversion to doctors, but even if he had, he would have gone through with any examination that was needed, just to make his mate happy. He couldn't understand why Gaara didn't share that same impulse. He was a lucky bastard to have Naruto as his mate – why wasn't he doing everything in his power to make his mate happy? Why was he letting this supposed – because Sasuke was too suspicious to completely believe that claim – aversion to doctors keep them from having a child?

"So I'm just unlucky that I love a man whose aversion to doctors is apparently more important than having a baby together," Naruto choked out angrily and pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes.

The comment about Naruto loving Gaara stung, but he told himself not to be ridiculous. Of course Naruto loved Gaara – that was normal after being together for nearly five years. What he felt right now didn't matter; Naruto was hurting and he wanted nothing more than to reassure him, put him on ease. But how?

"Naruto-san, everything will be all right, you'll see," Sasuke spoke soothingly and stood up, walking towards him. Maybe meaningless words in Naruto's viewpoint, but Sasuke was sincere.

"That's easy for you to say," Naruto retorted spitefully and lowered his hands. The fire in his blue eyes made the Alpha inside of him growl with approval. It liked seeing the Omega so fired up. "You don't have a mate who refuses to see a doctor."

"You know, I don't understand why he would refuse such an easy request," Sasuke mused and Naruto stilled when he halted in front of him. "It's not like you're asking him to do something impossible. If you were my mate, I would agree to do an examination. I wouldn't want you to be sad." The words tumbled out of his mouth with no restraint; he wanted Naruto to know how he would treat his mate. How he would treat _Naruto_ if the man was his mate.

"Sasuke-san, I …" Naruto breathed in sharply when Sasuke rested a hand on his cheek; the warm skin burnt underneath his fingertips. He looked straight into glimmering, cerulean blue eyes and Sasuke couldn't help but recall the last time they were in this particular position. The last time when they almost kissed each other. He knew he should pull back. He was treading dangerous territory and things would only become more messed up if he remained near the blond.

But he couldn't. His hand seemed glued against Naruto's silk soft skin and the Alpha inside of him rose its head when the delicious scent clinging to Naruto grew fiercer, spreading out from the blond like waves, calling out to the dark haired man. Enticing him to come closer, bent lower …

"If you were my mate, I would do everything in my power to make you happy," Sasuke whispered and he felt his own face soften. "I'd do everything if it meant I could see you smile again." Bringing that glorious smile back on that beautiful face would be a privilege he would be delighted to have. To see Naruto smiling that beautiful smile, just for him …

He would do anything to see him smile at him like that. A genuine, bright smile.

Without being fully conscious of what he was doing, Sasuke lowered his head slowly, giving the wide eyed blond time to pull back.

He didn't.

He kept standing there, allowing Sasuke to close the gap between them. Soon Sasuke's vision was filled with bright blue, like the sky during a sun filled day. The air surrounding them grew heavy, filled with the sweet scent that by now was practically wafting off the Omega. The scent that filled him with a fierce desire, a desire so overwhelming, it set every cell in his body on fire. A burning, raging fire that could only be quelled by Naruto.

Naruto's eyes shuttered close, hiding that gorgeous blue colour and Sasuke slipped an arm around his waist, bringing him closer, allowing the contours of their bodies to fit together. Like pieces of a puzzle.

One breath. Two heartbeats.

Their lips met and the raging desire exploded; his blood boiling inside.

Mouths opened in a surprised gasp and they started kissing each other hungrily; the first taste of Naruto's lips was addicting and hands clutched at each other's body to drag them closer. Their tongues sneaked between reddening, bruising lips to start a hesitant dance with the other one. Naruto tasted like the chocolate milk he had been drinking and something completely unique; his own taste. It made Sasuke want to taste him even more.

The first touch of their tongues together felt electrifying, overwhelming and Sasuke felt Naruto pressing closer to him, almost in desperation, and his lips returned the kiss hungrily. Teeth clacked together in their rush to feel more and Sasuke closed his hands around slender hips, pulling him closer until they were flush against each other; no space left between their bodies that were quickly heating up.

Fuck, never before had a kiss made him feel so out of control. Breathing became difficult and yet he didn't want to pull away from those soft, plump lips. He wanted to feel more of the slender blond, he needed _more_. His thirst couldn't be quenched by a kiss only; a kiss would never be enough to douse the fire raging within him. His abdominal muscles clenched underneath the touch of warm hands sliding underneath his sweater.

Naruto let out a strangled moan when Sasuke curled his tongue around his, sucking on it greedily. Not able to hold himself back, he slipped one hand underneath Naruto's shirt – that was actually his shirt, but now it had both their scents on it, and Naruto would smell _like him_ – curling his fingers around Naruto's side while his other hand slipped down over his back to his arse, squeezing the supple buttocks firmly. The Alpha inside of him graciously supplied him with images of a naked, sweaty Naruto lying underneath him, with spread legs, begging him to fuck him and Sasuke took a step forwards, intent on taking the panting blond to his room to ravish him, to mark him for his own. That was how it should be; this was what he had been waiting for, for so long.

Another breathy moan was torn out of Naruto's mouth when he squeezed his arse again and excitement filled him.

"Tardiness is not becoming of an Uchiha, Otouto. Do I still need to remind you that …"

Black eyes shot open and Sasuke cursed himself. Fuck. _His brother_. He was there to pick him up. _Shit, shit!_

Naruto's eyes shot open in shock as soon as he registered the casual voice and he ripped himself out of Sasuke's firm grip, in an attempt to look casual.

Of course it was _far_ too late for that.

Reluctantly Sasuke turned around, silently mourning the absence of Naruto in his arms, and saw Itachi and Deidara standing in the threshold. Deidara's mouth hung open in shock, his baby blue eyes wide. Itachi's face was schooled in a blank mask, but after growing up with him Sasuke could detect the slight widening of his eyes, conveying the fact that he clearly hadn't expected to walk in on this particular scene.

Shit, this was not good. Not good at all.

"Itachi," Sasuke said breathlessly and he made an attempt to brush his shirt back down; it had ridden up when Naruto put his hands underneath it.

Naruto had been _touching_ him. He had _returned the kiss_. If Itachi wasn't currently glaring daggers at him and if it was in his nature to do so, he would have whooped in joy. Naruto hadn't rejected him. He had returned the kiss with equal force – there was no way he could deny he had feelings for the Alpha now.

"I – I can explain," Naruto mumbled weakly, but it was clear he had no idea how to go on about it. His face was a curious mixture of the last remnants of desire and growing shock. His cheeks were flushed and he fidgeted with his fingers.

"I'm sure you can," Itachi answered sardonically and Sasuke bristled in return, not appreciating the tone his brother used towards Naruto. Itachi raised a slim eyebrow; apparently intent on ignoring his brother for now. "Deidara, take Naruto-kun home. My brother and I need to talk."

Dread filled him and he stiffened. God, why couldn't Itachi just let him be? Why the hell did he think he needed a scolding? He was twenty-six years old, damn it. He could make his own choices.

Deidara grimaced at the order, but approached Naruto, taking him by his hand. "Come on, Naruto-kun. I'll take you back home," he said softly; his blue eyes troubled.

"Wait, my clothes, they are still in the dryer …" Naruto fumbled, shuffling awkwardly next to Sasuke, who tensed up and glared at his brother.

"I'll take them with me once they are done," Itachi answered coolly; his dark, piercing eyes returned the glare.

Deidara tugged at Naruto's hand again and the younger blond followed him subdued, flinching when he passed Itachi, whose aura practically screamed anger.

Sasuke grimaced and clenched his fists next to his sides. The sound of his front door clicking shut seemed to resemble the sound of thunder.

Itachi pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a strained sigh. "Why on earth … I can't believe you! You were kissing Naruto-kun? You know he has a mate, Sasuke! Damn it, why are you screwing up his …"

"He kissed me back," Sasuke interrupted him rudely. He didn't appreciate the implication that he had been forcing himself on Naruto. Yes, he had started the kiss, he wouldn't deny that. But he had given the blond a chance to retreat, to pull back, and instead of taking it, he had returned the kiss with the same level of desire that had been driving Sasuke mad.

Itachi shook his head slowly; disappointment filling his eyes and Sasuke flinched involuntarily. He _fucking_ hated when his brother looked at him like that. He couldn't stand the thought of disappointing his brother and the bastard knew that.

"You should never have continued the kiss. For that matter, you shouldn't have brought him into your house," the older man said forcefully. "Why was he here in the first place?"

"He had a fight with Gaara," Sasuke admitted reluctantly. He didn't want to gossip about Naruto's problems, but Itachi wouldn't stop until he knew everything. "He left their house and I found him on the streets. He didn't have his jacket with him and didn't know where he was. When I offered to drive him back, he said he didn't want to go back for a while. What was I supposed to do? I couldn't leave him there!"

"You should have brought him to us!" Itachi bit out. "Any place was better than here! You took advantage of the fact that he …"

"I WOULD NEVER TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HIM!" Sasuke shouted and took a step forwards. "I didn't fucking force him! Yes, I kissed him first – but he returned the kiss! He kissed me back! You saw that with your own eyes! Did he look like he was being forced?" he sneered and glared at his brother. If Itachi kept insinuating that he had taken advantage of Naruto, that he had forced him, he would make his brother feel sorry that those words had ever left his mouth. He didn't give one fuck that he was his older brother – he wouldn't let himself be called a rapist or be told that he was harassing Naruto.

All the fight left the older man suddenly and he practically collapsed into the leather armchair, leaving Sasuke awkwardly hovering behind the table. The silence hung heavily between them, oppressive, making it hard for the younger man to breathe properly.

Slowly he unclenched his fists and glanced away. "I know he has a mate," he said quietly and took a shuddering breath. "I know I shouldn't have kissed him. But I did it anyway and there is no going back. And you know what? I don't regret it at all. That kiss made it clear to me that he's _the one_. He is it, Itachi. I've never felt like that before when I kissed her. He's the only one for me, I'm sure of that."

Dark eyes stared at him tiredly. "He is trying to conceive with Gaara-san, Otouto. He wants a child with Gaara-san. He's not yours."

Did Itachi think he was an idiot? He knew what Naruto was trying to do, for fuck's sake. But just because he was trying now, didn't mean he would continue to try. The first cracks were showing in Naruto's relationship with Gaara and the fact that Naruto had kissed him back, only stopping when they were interrupted, gave the dark haired man hope.

For weeks he had despaired that he would never have a chance with the beautiful blond, but their kiss today had given him renewed hope. Their kiss just now had proven that Naruto returned his feelings for at least a bit.

"I know that," Sasuke retorted and licked his dry lips. "I know that he isn't mine. Yet. But he will be. I'm sure of it. He's not happy with Gaara, Itachi-niisan. Gaara is refusing to undergo treatment and he's hurting Naruto-san through that. I know _I_ can make him happy. And I know he must have felt the difference in our kiss today."

"You're taking a gamble, Sasuke," Itachi murmured and placed a hand on his forehead. He looked frustrated. "I don't want you to get hurt. You have no absolute certainty that Naruto-kun will be yours. I don't want to see you wasting away in the hope that Naruto-kun will ever give you a chance."

"He's the one for me, Itachi," Sasuke said resolutely and gazed at him confidently. "I know he is."

"Maybe you're just confusing it with something else. Maybe you think he's the one, because you haven't …"

"No, I know he is it for me." Sasuke shook his head stubbornly. "I won't want anyone else. He is the one for me, I'm certain of that."

He had never really believed in the concept of soulmates. His mother of course had told him how it would feel if he met his soulmate: how he would feel overwhelmed from the start, how he would feel a weird tug towards the other person. The feelings between soulmates would be intensified and the love they shared with each other was one of the purest, most precious love that existed in the world. Everyone wanted to find their soulmate – but most people never did. A soulmate was something rare, something incredibly hard to find. One could spend their whole life searching for their soulmate, but never find them. The chances of finding your soulmate were slim to none and so for most people it remained nothing but a romantic fairy tale. Something that could make them sigh wistfully once in a while, but it would remain a mere dream.

Sasuke had never put much thought in the idea of a soulmate. Certainly, the thought of someone that was created especially for him, both of them forming two pieces of a whole, was a nice one and occasionally he had wondered whether his soulmate was out there, somewhere. He was realistic, though, and had never expected to find his soulmate. If he could find someone who could love him like Deidara loved Itachi, with whom he could share his love, he would have been content.

But his feelings for Naruto went beyond that of a mere mate, he was nearly certain of it. Their kiss was too explosive, too addictive, for them to be just mere people attracted to each other. The tug he felt towards the other man was not normal; not a consequence of mere attraction.

Yes, he was fairly confident that Naruto was his soulmate.

And that only made him more determined to not let Naruto slip through his fingers.

"Fine, if you say so," Itachi sighed and stood up. "If he really is the one for you, he will feel the same thing. Let him come to you next time."

"What?" Sasuke stared at him bemused. The sudden turn their conversation had taken, befuddled him. He knew Itachi could switch from one mood to the next one in a blink, but the contrast between him angry at Sasuke's audacity to kiss a mated Omega and this resigned tiredness was quite jarring.

"If he is really the one, like you think he is, he won't be able to stay away from you forever. Don't instigate anything else. Naruto-kun has to be the one to make the next move," Itachi explained and gazed at him sternly. "It is time for him to show that he can return your feelings without you starting anything."

Sasuke wanted to protest, but deep inside he knew Itachi was right. Naruto had returned the kiss now, but he hadn't started it. He was fairly certain that Naruto was the one for him, but it was time that the blond showed he returned the Alpha's feelings. So he would wait for Naruto to make the next move. Whether that would be kissing him or visiting him at his house, he would wait. He could play the waiting game. He had been waiting ever since the Christmas party after all. What was a bit more time?

He just hoped Naruto wouldn't take too long anymore. Now that he had got a real taste of the blond, he was on a fast track to becoming addicted and he couldn't wait to have the Omega all to himself.

* * *

That night in his bed, his mind was assaulted by the memory of his kiss with Naruto. Throughout the entire evening and during the visit to the art exhibition he had had a hard time concentrating on the art pieces as his mind constantly flashed back to the glittering blue eyes or the luscious pink lips parting underneath his. Or the almost desperate grip the blond had had on his body. It was a damn miracle he had even remembered to follow Itachi and Deidara around without bumping against anything. His brother-in-law had glanced at him contemplatively every now and then, but he seemed to have decided to keep quiet about the fact that Sasuke had kissed and groped his best friend.

A groan escaped Sasuke when blue eyes, pupils widening, flashed through his mind again. Even hours after it happening, he could still feel the imprint of Naruto's mouth against his own. Could still feel how the slender body fitted perfectly against his own, how welcoming the blond had been. How addictive his taste was. How absolutely amazing he had looked like, dressed in Sasuke's clothes.

How much Sasuke had wanted to drag him off to his room and ravish him; make him his.

A shuddering breath left him and he shifted in his bed, until he was lying on his back. The memory of the kiss was fuelling his desire again and excitement coursed through him. Licking his lips, he recalled how Naruto had pressed his mouth firmly against his and yet had yielded so beautifully underneath Sasuke's insistence to open his mouth. His hand drifted over his stomach, lingering near the waistband of his trousers before it slipped underneath the elastic waistband, toying with the elastic of his underwear as his erection grew, reacting to the memory of Naruto's hips pressing against his own. Their groins had touched each other and Sasuke recalled crystal clear how Naruto had obviously started to become excited. The firm bulge that had pressed back against his own had been a clear indication of that.

Biting his lip, his hand snuck inside his boxer short, closing around his hard cock, which by now was rock hard and begging to be touched. His breath left him with a soft 'whoosh' sound as he started moving his hand up and down, twisting his wrist, flicking his thumb over his slit, as he closed his eyes to better image Naruto leaning over him. Naruto would be completely naked, his warm, tanned skin a sharp contrast to Sasuke's own pale one, and blue eyes would be looking at him lustfully. Sasuke stifled a moan and spread his legs.

_"What do you want me to do, Sasuke?" Naruto breathed out; golden strands caressing his cheeks as he settled himself between Sasuke's spread legs. His own hard cock brushed against Sasuke's thigh. Hands caressed his chest firmly, flicking his nipples teasingly as the blond shuffled closer._

_Pale hands grabbed tanned hips and his thumbs rubbed over the slightly protruding hipbones. "I want your mouth on me," Sasuke murmured and raised one hand to thumb Naruto's lower lip. "That pretty mouth taking my cock inside."_

_A pink tongue came out to taste his thumb, before it retreated again. "Is that so?" Naruto hummed and smiled seductively. "Well, who am I to say no to that?"_

_Soft hair brushed against his thighs, tickling him a bit, when Naruto shuffled down the bed, lowering his head. His breath caressed him before his wet mouth closed around his hard cock and Sasuke groaned when he was surrounded by the wet heat; a tongue lavishing attention on him as hands wandered aimlessly over his body, coaxing him to react. The tongue dipped teasingly into his slit, sucked his tip whenever Naruto came up with his head. A couple of times Sasuke bumped against the back of Naruto's throat, but the blond wasn't fazed by that, merely swallowing around his cock, causing Sasuke to curse at the exquisite feeling. His thighs trembled, his chest heaved up and down and sweat coated his body as Naruto's head bobbed up and down, taking his cock deeper inside each time until at the end he was mostly deep throating him, humming around him; occasionally blue eyes flickered up to gaze at him mischievously._

_It didn't take long for Sasuke to be thrown over the edge with a shout containing a garbled version of Naruto's name; his orgasm ripping through him violently._

"Fuck," Sasuke sighed as his hand stilled, sticky with his release. Half-heartedly he cleaned his hand and threw his soiled boxers in the hamper before stumbling back into his bed.

His eyes slipped close, his breathing evened out quicker than the previous nights.

He couldn't wait for the day that Naruto decided to be his completely.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: We're slowing reaching the ending of this story, guys. I hope you'll stick with me until the end :) Here you'll find out what is wrong with Gaara.
> 
> Thanks for the comments and the kudos!
> 
> Warnings: made up medical treatments; foul language. That's it mainly.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto owns it
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy this chapter!
> 
> Please let me know what you thought of this chapter in a review! If you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.
> 
> See you all in the next chapter!
> 
> Cuddles
> 
> Melissa

_Chapter 6_

The month following his kiss with Naruto was a strain on his nerves. Since that afternoon he hadn't seen Naruto again and as his workload grew once more he also didn't have the chance to try out to bump against him in Itachi's home. It was incredibly aggravating to know that he was this close to having Naruto as his mate, but he couldn't do anything at all to speed up the progress.

In the middle of March Sasuke received notice that Naruto would be switching doctors. When Karin had informed him of the news, he had released such a vicious snarl that she had gone pale and basically had fled back to her desk, keeping her head down for the rest of the week. Even she knew when she had to back off or risk severe injury.

The whole day following Karin's announcement of Naruto having switched doctors was spent fuming, darkly muttering to himself, until he arrived home that night and got utterly smashed. It was either drinking himself into a stupor or going out on the streets, trying to find someone stupid enough to take up his challenge to fight. Even through the haze of his anger, he realised that Itachi would not be happy at all if he had to bail his younger brother out of jail.

The next day Sasuke woke up with a pounding headache – making him remember why exactly he detested becoming drunk – and encountered the smashed remains of the bottle containing the last quarter of his scotch.

"Fuck," he whispered harshly, squinting to lessen the pressure of the harsh T-lights on his growing headache.

He slumped down on one of the kitchen chairs and stared blankly at the glistening shards of glass. Why had Naruto switched doctors? He had never once came across as if he disliked having Sasuke as his doctor. So why? Why didn't the blond man want him as his doctor anymore? Was it because of their kiss? Did he think that Sasuke wouldn't be able to remain professional? He had proven that before, right? Even with his growing feelings, he had continued to help Naruto seek treatments for his fertility issue. Never once had he let his feelings influence his decision on the treatments.

Heavily frowning, he looked out of the window where he could see the sun slowly rising up; the last remnants of the night absorbed by the gentle light.

Why had Naruto never told him anything? Sure, it was his right to switch doctors – but didn't Sasuke have the right to know why he made the sudden switch? Was it really just because of the kiss?

Or … Dark eyes narrowed in suspicion and his hands formed tight fists; the knuckles of his hands turning white. Or was this change not Naruto's decision? Was Gaara the one who had decided that Naruto had to see another doctor?

If that was the case, why would the red haired Alpha make such a sudden decision? He had never met Sasuke in the professional setting, so he couldn't have any complains about his work ethics. Was it taking too long for Naruto to become pregnant and had he decided that another doctor would provide a better solution? If that was the case, he wished him luck; if _he_ couldn't find the cause, he very much doubted that another doctor would be able to discover the issue.

Another possible reason rose up in his mind and he stilled. Maybe Gaara hadn't insisted on Naruto changing doctors because it took them too long to have a child – maybe he had decided that because Naruto had confessed about kissing Sasuke back.

He didn't know for certain whether Naruto had mad such a confession of course – and there would be no way of figuring it out without contacting the blond Omega about it – but Naruto appeared to be someone who wouldn't be able to live with such a secret nagging at him. Naruto seemed honest to a fault and it wouldn't surprise Sasuke if the Omega had told his mate about him kissing someone else.

If that was the case, it shocked Sasuke that Gaara hadn't shown up yet at his practice to beat the shit out of him. Especially after their first disastrous meeting.

Or was having Naruto change doctors Gaara's equivalent of kicking his arse? It made sense of course: if he wanted to still be with Naruto, he would make certain that the cause of the temptation would be removed out of their lives.

It was a brilliant idea – and it only served to piss off Sasuke even more. He was this close to having Naruto as his mate and the obstacles only seemed to grow.

He had half a mind to look up Naruto's address from his file and drive over to ask in person why he had made the switch, but he knew he couldn't do that. He had promised Itachi he would wait until Naruto made the next move and he didn't want to break a promise to his older brother. Not after ignoring his advice so many times before during the past few months.

Grim, dark eyes flicked one last look at the rose coloured sky, with faint white clouds drifting past, before he stood up to prepare his breakfast.

He would wait. He would resist the urge to visit Naruto and he wouldn't question his switch to another doctor. He would concentrate on his other patients now and leave Naruto's case in the hands of another doctor.

No matter how much his Alpha side growled at him to take charge and rip Naruto from Gaara's hold.

* * *

His resolve to let Naruto take the first step lasted until the beginning of April and it was partly Deidara's fault for making his resolve crumble like that.

Taking the parking spot right in front of his office, Sasuke shut off the engine and marched towards the building; a soft breeze caressing his skin. The lights were off, naturally, as Karin had gone home, considering there were no patients scheduled for the rest of the afternoon. The faint sunlight making its way through the curtains was enough to not make him stumble into furniture and he crossed the hallway, past Karin's desk to his office.

"Where is it?" he murmured distractedly and hastily unlocked the door, making a beeline for the cabinets. The file should still be in the cabinets; he hadn't been contacted yet by any of his colleagues, so there had been no need to get rid of the file.

" _This prescription will give you a dose for six months," Sasuke muttered and ripped the paper out of the notebook. He wrinkled his nose when the sticky sweet scent reached his nose again. "I'm surprised Itachi left you here."_

_Deidara clucked his tongue and accepted the paper, folding it before sliding it into his pocket. "The heat isn't that bad now, considering Shion isn't even three months old yet, un," he sniffed and adjusted the bottle slightly so that his son could keep suckling. "Normally I shouldn't be able to get pregnant so soon again, but we figured that it was better to be safe."_

" _It'll take your body at least another six months before you'll really need the suppressants," Sasuke informed him and put his notebook and pen back in his bag. "That said,_ I _can smell the heat on you. If I can, that means that Itachi would surely know you're in heat now."_

_Baby blue eyes rolled in exasperation. "Fine, yes, he did want to stay at home, but I told him he had to go to work for at least today, un. He needs to put in his vacation days and I'm really not in the mood to deal with Kakuzu's whiney rants, because Itachi didn't formally put in his days." He was quiet for a few seconds and then added cheekily, "I did promise to make it worth his while when he comes home again, though."_

" _I really didn't need to know that," Sasuke grimaced and stood up._

" _Can you hand me my phone, Sasuke-kun?" Deidara nodded at the cell phone lying next to a magazine on the counter. "I want to call Naruto-kun, but I don't want to disturb Shion."_

_Sasuke stilled for a few seconds, but forced himself to cross the kitchen and grab the device. "Any particular reason why it can't wait until Shion is asleep?" he asked neutrally, but his heart had started to race at the mention of Naruto's name and he couldn't help but want more information about the beautiful blond he hadn't seen a couple of weeks._

" _Because I need to start preparing dinner then and I don't want to wait until tonight to contact him," Deidara muttered and studied the nearly empty bottle with a critical eye. "I don't know whether he has plans with Gaara-san or not, so I don't want to disturb him tonight."_

" _Ah," Sasuke murmured and placed the cell phone on the table. "Have they found a new doctor yet?" he inquired casually and pulled on his jacket._

_Blue eyes regarded him with scrutiny, but he kept his face blank. The inner debate was clearly playing out on Deidara's face, before he uttered a small sigh and shook his head._

" _No, last I heard Gaara-san was still searching for one. Maybe he finally found one, though. That's why I want to call."_

" _Why doesn't Gaara-san just go to his doctor?" the raven haired Alpha prodded and placed his bag on the table, while he frowned._

" _I have no idea, Sasuke-kun. Since I know him, he hasn't needed a doctor's visit," Deidara told him frankly and placed the empty bottle in front of him on the table. "Why are you asking …"_

_The door that led to the backyard opened and Akihito practically flew inside, covered from head to toe in dirt._

" _Akihito! What on earth did you do outside?" Deidara asked horrified as the smudges of dirt and grass stains covered his son's face, hands and clothing._

_Akihito blinked bemused and looked down at his clothes with a slight frown. "Playing," he stated frankly and regarded his father as if he couldn't understand why the blond hadn't realised that sooner._

" _You need a bath, mister," Deidara fussed and stood up to direct his son to the bathroom, ignoring his whining. He threw an apologising look at his brother-in-law. "I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun, but I need to put him in bath."_

_Sasuke waved his hand haphazardly, while the gears in his mind were already turning and churning as he digested the small piece of information the blond Omega had given him just now._

" _Don't worry; I need to leave anyway," he muttered and ignoring Deidara's bemused look, he snatched his bag off the table and walked briskly out of the house to his car._

_Throwing his bag hastily in the back of his car, he slid behind the wheel and started the vehicle. Thoughts were racing through his mind and they were all focused around one thing: Gaara and his mysterious, previous doctor._

_Even though he had sworn to not think about Naruto's case again, he couldn't help but wonder whether Gaara's former doctor had known whether something was wrong with the red haired man. Would his previous doctor know if Gaara had fertility issues? Was that perhaps the reason why the Alpha refused to visit another doctor?_

_If he knew the name of that doctor, he could call him up and ask him about Gaara's case. But he had never had Gaara as a patient and thus had no information about him whatsoever. Sasuke thought it unlikely that the other Alpha would willingly give up that particular information._

_Smiling grimly, he waited until the light turned green and turned into the street on his left. Before he went home, he needed to make a stop at his office._

Riffling through the drawers of the cabinet, he finally found the file he was looking for and pried it out from between the other files. Opening the file, he leaved through the papers until he landed on the one with the personal information written down on it.

His eyes landed on the cell phone number and then he paused, biting his lower lip thoughtfully. He probably shouldn't do this; the number was only to be used in case of a sudden appointment that needed to be made or information that needed to be given through immediately. With him removed from his patient's list, he didn't have the right anymore to call him.

But he really wanted to help the Omega; the blond man deserved to be happy, even if it wasn't with him.

Taking a deep breath – ignoring how the butterflies in his stomach reappeared once more after being dormant for nearly two months – he took his cell phone out of his pocket and dialled the number he had found in the papers.

The thundering of his heart in his ears seemed even louder than the slow 'beep, beep' sound signalling that the call was trying to connect.

"Hello?" The sound of Naruto's soft, hesitant voice caused his knees to tremble a bit and he straightened up, reminding himself he had another reason for calling that didn't include wanting to hear Naruto's voice again.

"Naruto-san, it's me, Sasuke," he introduced himself, knowing that Naruto had no way of knowing who was calling him. All the appointments had been made through the regular phone by Karin after all.

"Sasuke-san?" Naruto repeated shocked and there was the faint sound of something rustling in the background. "How did you get my number?"

"I'm sorry, but I used the one you gave up on your information sheet," Sasuke apologised sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck, hoping that the blond wouldn't become angry now. "I didn't know how to contact you otherwise without risking the chance of pissing off your mate." The address had been written down right underneath the cell phone number, but while he dared to risk calling, he knew it would give too much trouble if he actually visited Naruto at his place. He didn't want to cause trouble between the couple intentionally.

"Eh, so why are you calling?" Naruto asked wearily.

The Alpha couldn't fault him for that particular tone. "Has Gaara-san visited a doctor yet?" he inquired briskly.

It was quiet for a couple of seconds before the blond answered bemused, "What? No, he hasn't. He's been searching for a new doctor."

"You told me he did go to a doctor before you met him – has he ever told you the doctor's name?" Sasuke questioned further and closed the file again.

"Eh, no, he never mentioned the name. Why?"

 _How convenient_ , Sasuke thought scowling and slipped the file in the first drawer. "Do you think you can find the name of his doctor in his diary or so?"

"I can search for it, but I doubt he still has the name written down somewhere," Naruto replied, a bit reluctant. "Why? Why do you need the name?"

"I figured that his last doctor might know whether he has issues with fertility," Sasuke explained frankly. He saw no need to beat around the bush. "If I have the name, I can look him up and ask him about it."

"Isn't that illegal? Patient confidentiality and all that?" Naruto asked warily.

Sasuke made a non-committal sound. "It'll be fine," he answered vaguely. "It's not like Gaara-san is still seeing that doctor, right?" Plus he really doubted that whoever this other doctor was, would give him trouble. The Uchiha name was feared and respected for a reason; if Sasuke wanted, he could get away with a lot of things that had the tag of illegality attached to them, simply because of his family's influence.

"Right," Naruto said slowly and sounded a bit hesitant.

"Just let me know if you have found the name, okay? I really want to help you, Naruto-san. I wasn't lying when I said that I want to see you happy," Sasuke said sincerely.

Naruto's happiness was the most important thing for him now – even if that meant he would never have a real chance with Naruto.

"Yeah, okay, thanks. I – I have to go now," Naruto fumbled and Sasuke barely had the chance to say goodbye before he ended the call.

With a sigh, Sasuke put his phone back into his pocket and locked his office. All he could do now was wait for Naruto's reply.

At least he had heard Naruto's voice again; he hadn't realised how much he had missed hearing him and talking to him until this call.

* * *

Almost a week went by before Sasuke's cell phone announced he had received a text message in the late afternoon. Recognising the number as that of Naruto's, he immediately opened the message and was greeted by one very familiar name.

"Well, I'll be damned," he muttered disbelieving and stared at the screen, which displayed the name of Gaara's former doctor.

Out of all the doctors he had had in mind, he had never expected _him_ to be Gaara's previous doctor.

Extracting information out of that man might prove to be quite difficult after all. Thankfully he did have some dirt on that man, so if all else failed and the idiot remained stubborn, he would just have to blackmail him a bit.

Steeling himself for the upcoming conversation, he went through his contact list and selected the name after throwing a look at his watch. Five thirty, huh? He might still be working.

Or he might be procrastinating like he regularly did. How that man kept his license was a mystery Sasuke would like to solve one day. The amount of turning up late and procrastinating that idiot did, was astonishing. It was a miracle he even had clients left after his disastrous record of showing up on time. It wouldn't surprise Sasuke if the other Alpha had even turned up late for his own graduation.

The other man accepted the call after barely one minute, which had to be some kind of record. Usually it took around six to seven tries before the man picked up.

 _His book is probably just finished_ , Sasuke thought dryly and leant back in his chair.

"Well, this is a surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure of your call, Sasuke-kun?" Hatake Kakashi asked lazily.

Kakashi had been some sort of mentor to Sasuke when he had just started his studies. The younger Alpha didn't know the specifics, but Kakashi was related to the Uchiha through a distant family member. Instead of the traditional black hair, though, he had shocking white as colour and he constantly kept half of his face covered with a shawl. Sasuke had never figured out why exactly the older man kept his face covered, though the rumours went around that the lower half of his face was so scarred due to an accident when he was still a child that he kept it covered the entire time now.

He was also god damn lazy, never arrived on time, had an excuse for everything and was quite fond of erotic novels. Whenever you saw him, you could be certain that somewhere in his pocket or bag he had a porn book hidden.

Yet despite all his faults, he was still respected as a doctor and though Sasuke was loathe to admit it, he had been a great mentor as well.

He still annoyed the hell out of him, though.

"I need to ask some information about a former patient of yours," Sasuke explained and closed the file he had been browsing through before he received Naruto's message.

"What kind of information?" Kakashi asked warily after a short pause.

"Whether or not he has fertility issues."

"Sasuke-kun, you know I can't give out that information. It's private for a reason," Kakashi chided him gently.

Sasuke ignored the chiding – like he had done so many times before – and continued, "An Omega came to me, because it was taking him long to conceive."

"What's long? Most Omega tend to panic rather quickly, you know," the older Alpha retorted calmly.

"When he came to me, they had already been trying for four months," Sasuke replied smoothly.

"That … _is_ quite a long time," Kakashi admitted after a short pause.

The dark haired man smirked. He knew he had caught Kakashi's attention with this particular mention. "I ran several tests and I concluded that the Omega is fertile and should have no problem conceiving. So that left us with only one possibility: that his mate is the one having trouble." He took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose as irritation grew in him when he thought of Gaara's refusal. "However, his mate refuses to visit a doctor for reasons unknown. The Omega found out that you were his mate's previous doctor. If I tell you the name, do you think you can look up whether he had fertility issues?"

Kakashi sighed heavily. "Maah, Sasuke-kun, like I said before: I can't give you that information. It's confidential for a reason."

"But he's not your patient anymore," Sasuke argued irritated and tapped his pen against his desk.

"That doesn't matter. I can't give you that information without his explicit consent and somehow I doubt he will give his consent."

Sasuke was silent for a short while and then rolled his shoulders. Well, time for the last resort then. He didn't have the patience to try and cajole Kakashi into giving him the information.

"Look, I really need that information. If you refuse to give it to me, I will set fire to your stash of porn. I know where you hide them, Kakashi, and you know I would do it," he murmured silkily.

"You wouldn't dare," the other man whispered horrified.

"Try me, Kakashi," Sasuke deadpanned. "So what is it going to be? You're ready to say goodbye to your precious porn?"

"It's not porn," Kakashi grumbled and cursed impressively. "Fine, I'll look it up. You play dirty, Sasuke-kun."

"You're the one who made me resort to using that threat, Kakashi," the dark haired man retorted dryly. "It's not my fault porn is your weakness."

"How many times do I have to tell you Icha-Icha Paradise is not porn?" Kakashi whined and footsteps sounded in the background. "What's the name of this Alpha?"

"Sabaku no Gaara," Sasuke answered instantly.

"Ah yes," Kakashi suddenly murmured thoughtfully. "Yeah, I remember him."

Black eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Oh? Did he come by recently?" Sasuke asked carefully.

"Oh no, no, not at all. I haven't seen him in at least five years, if it isn't already six," Kakashi commented and he muttered something underneath his breath. "Aha, I knew it was somewhere in this drawer."

"You still got the file?" Sasuke inquired and was a tad impressed. He had thought Kakashi would have either disposed of it by now or just simply lost it.

"Don't sound so surprised, Sasuke-kun," the white haired man scolded him. "I do keep everything in order."

Sasuke couldn't help but snort silently. _Order_. Yeah, right. Their definition of order vastly differed.

"Ah yes," Kakashi muttered and then paused. "You said your patient was trying to conceive with Gaara-san?"

"Yes," Sasuke said slowly and a hint of dread was forming in his stomach. The peculiar tone of Kakashi didn't sound very promising and he couldn't help but think that some bad news was coming up.

"I have some very unfortunate news for your patient then," Kakashi sighed. "No matter how long they try, there won't ever be a pregnancy. At least not with Gaara-san as the biological father."

Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows in contemplation. "Gaara-san is infertile?" he questioned and blinked. In the back of his mind he had hold that particular possibility as an option, but he had hoped for Naruto's sake that that wasn't the problem. "Is he infertile since birth or was it a result from an accident?"

"Neither," Kakashi said and clucked his tongue. "He came to me and asked to undergo the AIP61 procedure."

Sasuke froze and the hand holding the phone to his ear clenched around the device tighter. AIP61 stood for Alpha Infertilitas Perfectam with the number 61 referring to the specific concoction of pills that were used for this particular procedure. This treatment made an Alpha completely infertile. The mixture of pills was designed in such a way that all seed would be rendered useless. Unlike some of the other treatments, though, the Alpha still received the full effect of the heats – he just wasn't capable of impregnating anyone.

The treatment was one of the very few that was irreversible and therefore was barely used. In fact, most Alpha who underwent that treatment either already had children or were considered unfit to ever care about children and were forced to undergo the procedure.

Rarely did childless Alpha – considered fit to be around children – choose to undergo that treatment.

Why on earth had Gaara undergone that particular treatment? And most importantly: why had Naruto never been informed of this?

"Are you sure it's Gaara-san who underwent that treatment? Why did he choose that procedure?" Sasuke asked after a tense moment of silence.

"I don't know the details, Sasuke-kun, but yes, it's Gaara-san. I have his file right here and he was one of the very few who chose the treatment willingly," Kakashi replied and there was some shuffling going on in the background. "I only remember that he was adamant that he underwent that treatment and nothing I said, changed his mind. I tried to convince him not to do it, considering it's permanent and he was without a partner at that time, but he would have none of it. He even went as far as threatening to drag me to court if I didn't grant his request."

"That son of a bitch," Sasuke muttered faintly and stared incredulously at his black computer screen. All this time, _all this time_ , that bastard had known he was infertile – had willingly undergone that treatment - , had known that he would never be able to impregnate Naruto and yet he had never said a word. He had let Naruto believe they would have a child together, had let him believe they would create a family together.

"That god damn son of a bitch!" he hissed and slammed his fist down on his desk, not even registering the pain shooting through his arm through the haze of fury falling over him.

How could that arsehole do that to his own mate?! How could he have let Naruto believe for months that they would have a child? How could he have sat there and not admit anything when he saw how devastated Naruto had become? What the fuck was going through that jackass' mind that he thought he could get away with this?

"I assumed he would have informed his partner of the fact that he chose that procedure," Kakashi said apprehensively.

"No, he has not," Sasuke brought out through gritted teeth and a growl escaped his throat. "His mate was becoming quite desperate to conceive and that's why he came to me. I had considered the thought that Gaara-san was infertile or had fertility issues in general, but never had I suspected that he actually _made_ himself infertile."

"I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun," Kakashi murmured. "I told him he needed to inform his future partners about the procedure and at that time he promised me he would do that. It's not going to be easy to break this news to your patient. Maybe you can talk to Gaara-san first and convince him to come clean?"

"That bastard coming clean?" Sasuke laughed coldly. "He has been lying to his mate for nearly five years now – why the fuck do you think he will come clean now?"

"Sasuke-kun, you sound a bit too invested in this," Kakashi remarked cautiously. "Exactly how close are you with this particular patient?"

"Thanks for the information, Kakashi, I really appreciate it," Sasuke said clipped and ended the call before the older man could say something.

Shit, how the hell was he going to explain this to Naruto? The blond Omega had been led to believe for nearly a year that he would have a child with the red haired man – exactly how was Sasuke supposed to explain that he would never be able to have a biological child with Gaara? How would he break the news that the man Naruto had loved for years, the man he wanted to build a family with, had been lying straight to his face since the beginning of their relationship?

He had never expected to hear news of this magnitude when he had decided to contact Kakashi. It was one thing to find out that Gaara was infertile – it was a whole other thing to find out that the infertility was _his own doing_. The dark haired man might have been sympathetic if Gaara had fertility issues and hadn't informed Naruto of them, because he was ashamed, but the fact that he had willingly turned himself infertile …

It made him want to punch the red haired man again and again, until he was nothing but a bloody pulp, for hurting Naruto like that. How could he just lie to Naruto like that, when he knew it was breaking Naruto to constantly see the negative sign on the pregnancy sticks?

It boggled Sasuke's mind that Gaara could be so callous when it came to his own mate. He didn't understand how the other Alpha could live with that secret, despite knowing that Naruto dearly wanted to have his child.

God, he was so pissed off right now that he couldn't remain in his office. He needed to leave.

Karin looked up startled when he breezed past her, still pulling on his jacket. "Lock off the practice when you leave, Karin-san. I'm not returning tonight," he informed her briskly.

"Wait, Uchiha-sensei!" she cried out shocked, but he ignored her and marched out of the building; anger boiling inside him while he slipped into his car after hastily throwing his bag in the back.

Making a split decision, he turned right at the end of the street. He needed a drink, but he didn't want to deal with the solitude of his house – for once.

The bar it was then.

* * *

A familiar man sat down next to him at the bar and stared at him with one eyebrow raised.

"What?" Sasuke grunted and raised his glass of whiskey; the ice cubes hit the glass when he took a sip. He wrinkled his nose at the slight hint of heat that wafted off the other man.

Neji shook his head; his long, brown hair – tied in a low ponytail similar to Itachi's – swishing back and forth across his back. "Nothing. Just didn't expect to see you here at this hour. Shouldn't you still be holed up in your office, making your brother-in-law worry about your health?" he asked dryly and raised his hand to attract the attention of the black and white haired bartender. "One whiskey on the rocks, please."

The bartender nodded and not even twenty seconds later, the whiskey was served and the bartender flitted over to the other side of the bar to tend to other patrons.

"Didn't want to remain at the office and wasn't in the mood to go home," Sasuke muttered and glared at his glass, as if it had done him a personal misdeed.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Neji offered after a brief bout of silence.

The dark haired man sighed and rolled his eyes. "Just something I discovered today. I have to inform a patient of mine that his partner kept his infertility for him a secret while they were trying to have a child." Just thinking of it made him tighten his grip on his glass.

The other man whistled lowly. "Damn, I do not envy you for being the bearer of that bad news."

"What makes it even worse is the fact that his partner willingly underwent a treatment to become infertile," Sasuke spat and slammed his glass down at the counter top. "I mean, who the fuck keeps a secret like that from their mate? Especially when they see how much their mate is suffering underneath the strain of not being able to get pregnant! I just don't understand!"

He became aware of a heavy stare and he turned around to scowl at Neji. "What?" he barked when those lavender coloured eyes studied him intently. He had never felt comfortable underneath that particular stare.

Neji shrugged and glanced away; one pale finger following the rim of his glass. "Nothing. I just think it's interesting that you seem so angry at your patient's behalf. I have never seen you like this before," he remarked calmly.

Sasuke clenched his teeth and looked away. He knew he shouldn't let this affect him so much, but it just pissed him off to know that Gaara was willing to hurt Naruto like that. He just couldn't comprehend how the man was able to lie for years to the one he loved.

"Hey, I didn't mean to offend you with that. It's just remarkable," Neji murmured and bumped his shoulder. "So, how are you going to tell your patient the news?" he inquired apprehensively.

Sasuke bit his lip and released a sigh. "I have no idea. We had discussed the possibility of his mate having fertility issues, but this is not exactly information that he will expect to hear."

He didn't even dare to imagine how Naruto would react when he got to hear the news. He winced and dragged a hand through his hair.

"Good luck with that," Neji mumbled and grimaced sympathetically.

They sat in amicable silence until Sasuke's glass was empty and he stood up. "I think it's time I go home," he sighed. "I have an early day tomorrow."

Neji nodded. "I'll foot your bill tonight."

Dark eyes squinted at him in suspicion. "Why?" Sasuke questioned warily. Neji was not a person who would pay someone else's bill without some ulterior motive.

Lavender coloured eyes rolled in exasperation. "Because it looks like you've got enough on your plate for now, so scram before I change my mind," he grunted.

"Thanks, Neji," Sasuke said and mustered a grateful smile.

"No need to thank me." Neji waved his hand dismissively and then suddenly smirked. "Congratulations, by the way, for finally mating."

The dark haired Alpha froze and stared at him nonplussed. "Huh?"

"I can barely smell your heat," Neji clarified and his smirk grew more pronounced. "Whoever you mated with, must be a tiger in bed."

"I'm not … Ah, forget it," Sasuke mumbled and left the bar with a frown marring his face. Neji's remark bothered him. How could the other man not smell the heat on him? It had been years since he last mated.

Then again, he paused when he was about to unlock his car, unlike previous years his heat _did_ seem rather weak. So far he hadn't been forced to take a day off to deal with the pressure of his heat.

Why was that?

After pondering about it for a while without finding any explanation, he rolled his shoulders and grimaced. Why his heat this year was rather weak was not a pressing matter at this moment.

What he needed to figure out now was how to break the news to Naruto.

* * *

On Saturday afternoon, Sasuke gave up on trying to figure out a good way to inform Naruto about Gaara's infertility and decided to just call him. He could keep agonizing over this for however long it was needed, but at the end of the day, there was just no good way to inform someone their partner had been deceiving them for years.

Leaving his paperwork behind on the table, he removed his cell phone from his charger and dialled Naruto's number for the second time.

While waiting for Naruto to accept the call, he found himself fidgeting nervously: shuffling with his foot over the floor and rubbing the back of his neck. It wasn't an everyday occurrence that he had to inform someone their mate was lying to them, so he figured he could be excused for being so fidgety right now – though he did try his best to remain still. He wasn't a child for god's sake.

"Why are you calling me?" Naruto greeted him rather rudely and he was taken aback by the tone.

Well, he certainly hadn't expected to be greeted like that.

Shaking his head, he composed himself and replied smoothly, "I figured you would want to know what your mate's doctor had to say about his former patient. I didn't think showing up at your doorstep would be a good idea."

_Plus there is that small fact of my wanting to beat the shit out of your mate if I did show up at your door._

"Wha-what did he say?" Naruto asked after a short pause and the rude tone had given away to a nervous one.

"It's not easy to say this over the phone," Sasuke started warily. "I don't know how I can soften the blow for you." He would have invited Naruto to visit him at his office, but the Alpha very much doubted the blond would agree to that.

"Surely it can't be that bad?" Naruto laughed nervously and the dark haired man winced, wishing that he wasn't the bearer of such bad news.

"Naruto-san … Apparently Gaara-san underwent a certain treatment," Sasuke said slowly and raked a hand through his hair. "A year before he met you."

"What kind of treatment?" Naruto asked apprehensively.

"There is a particular treatment that Alpha can undergo and it's not reversible. I'll spare you the long explanation and the medical terminology, but it comes down to the fact that Gaara-san took a cocktail of pills which will render all his seed useless," Sasuke replied softly, lowering himself on his couch. "He won't ever be able to get someone pregnant."

"He, he … So I won't ever be able to have his baby?" Naruto whispered. He sounded shocked and Sasuke couldn't blame him at all. He couldn't imagine how it felt like, trying to get pregnant for months, constantly receiving negative tests, only to hear then that your mate – the one you wanted to form a family with – had been lying to you throughout your entire relationship and that there never would be a pregnancy thanks to one decision in the past.

"I'm sorry, Naruto," Sasuke murmured, dropping the polite suffix once more. In the back of his mind he figured it was useless to keep up the pretence of polite strangers between them. They had long since passed that particular stage. "I asked his doctor whether he was sure and he was. He remembered it quite clearly, because Gaara-san was one of the very few Alpha who willingly chose that treatment."

"So I won't … He can't …" Naruto stammered, but he sounded incapable of finishing his sentence. He sounded so distraught that Sasuke's heart hurt for him. Like he had feared, the Omega sounded devastated – and who could blame him? News like this had to be earth shattering to the young man.

"I'm really sorry, Naruto, but Gaara-san won't be able to impregnate you, no matter how long you try," Sasuke answered softly and his sympathy for the beautiful blond shone through his voice. He wished he was there with Naruto now, to comfort him and to let him know that he was there for him.

But he was stuck here and Naruto was still with Gaara. The one who had deceived him and had taken his children's wish from him.

Anger boiled up once more in him, but he held himself back; knowing it wouldn't do any good to let Naruto know how angry he was. The blond might mistake his anger for being directed at him and that would make things even more complicated.

"I – I have to go," Naruto suddenly babbled, sounding incredibly upset.

"Wait, Naruto!" Sasuke said alarmed, but it was too late.

The 'beep' tone let him know that Naruto had hung up on him.

"God damn it!" Sasuke cursed and slammed his fist against the couch, breathing harshly. He had no idea what the blond was going to do now and that made him worry.

A lot.

What would Naruto do now, now that he knew the truth? Would he confront Gaara about it or keep quiet? And if it was the latter – for how long would he keep quiet?

Sasuke doubted whether Naruto would be able to put this behind him. He had seen with his own eyes how much the Omega longed to have a child – how was he going to react now that he had heard that he would never be able to have a child with Gaara?

"Shit, I'm such an idiot!" he berated himself and fell back against the couch, staring broodingly at the ceiling. He should have insisted on meeting Naruto somewhere to inform him about the news – at least that way he could have calmed him down somewhat before he went to confront Gaara. He didn't care at all what would happen to the green eyed man – for all he cared, he went to hell – but he didn't want anything to happen to Naruto.

Naruto was too upset to think clearly now and it was partly Sasuke's fault for announcing the news like that without any kind of buffer.

Then again, there had been no way to breach that particular topic gently.

"Shit," he cursed once more and straightened his back, gazing contemplatively at his papers. With a sigh, he dropped his head in his hands and stared blankly at the carpeted floor.

Whatever happened now, it was out of his hands.

An hollow laugh escaped him when he realised that even though he wasn't Naruto's doctor anymore, he still had helped him solve his problem with conceiving.

It had just happened in a completely other way than Sasuke had envisioned when he first heard about Naruto's problem.

Black eyes glanced at the clock and Sasuke bit the inside of his cheek, clenching his hands into tight fists. Worry was slithering around him, tightening its grip around his body, and he promised himself that he would call up Deidara in twenty minutes and ask him to check up on Naruto.

God knew he wanted to check up on Naruto, see for himself that he was fine, but he knew he couldn't do that.

That realisation only made him more frustrated.

* * *

Twenty minutes later he had just picked up his phone again when a sound cut abruptly through the silence in the house. His head shot up and he narrowed his eyes.

Someone was ringing his doorbell.

As he was expecting no one, he found himself approaching the front door warily, wondering who on earth could be disturbing him on a late Saturday afternoon.

He swung the door open …

Only to see someone he had never expected to see again, rocking back and forth in front of him.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: I think this is probably the chapter you've all been waiting for from the beginning LOL
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and the comments!
> 
> Warnings: lemon; MPreg; slight drama; quite a possessive Alpha
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto owns it.
> 
> IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING OMAKE:  
> The omake (or sequel to this story; I suppose you can consider it a sequel as well) will all be grouped together in a separate story called "Of Silver Linings and Blue Yonder".
> 
> I have started working on the first omake already, but I don't know yet when it will be posted. I'm hoping to start posting it somewhere at the end of October, middle of November. I have to warn you already, though, that those updates won't be as regular as the ones for this story, because my university work keeps growing and I'm working on other stories as well.
> 
> Rest assured, though, that the story will be posted soon and I aim to keep the delays to a minimum :)
> 
> Next chapter will be the last of this story and will contain the epilogue :) Let me know what you thought of the chapter in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.
> 
> See you all in the next chapter!
> 
> Cuddles
> 
> Melissa
> 
> I hope you'll like this chapter!

_Chapter 7_

"Naruto? What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked dumfounded, as shock filled him. He wondered whether he was dreaming and discreetly pinched his thigh. Ouch, damn it. No, he wasn't dreaming. Naruto was indeed standing in front of him, flustered; cheeks coloured red.

_What was he doing here?_

The blond smiled weakly, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Can I come in? I – I need a place to stay for the moment."

"Yes, of course, come in," Sasuke replied quickly and stepped hastily aside so that the Omega could enter.

"Sorry for intruding," Naruto muttered and removed his shoes, placing the scuffed shoe wear next to the door.

"Follow me," the dark haired man mumbled and guided the younger man to the living room; wishing he had thought of gathering his papers. Now they were carelessly strewn across the table. "Take a seat. What happened? Why are you here? Not that I'm complaining of course, but …" he started to reassure Naruto, before he caught sight of the red rimmed, dark blue eyes, and as his eyes widened in shock, he couldn't stop himself from blurting out, "Have you been crying?"

The corners of Naruto's mouth twitched in an aborted attempt to smile. "I – I confronted Gaara about what you had told me," he explained and took a measured breath; obviously still feeling rather frazzled. "He told me that he had taken that treatment, because he didn't want to end up like his father. He thought that adopting a baby would solve everything and would make me forget about the fact that he has been lying to me for four years." Bitterness audibly tainted his voice.

Had Gaara really thought that adoption would be the solution to their problems? After he had been lying to Naruto for such a long time? The dark haired man hadn't thought that the other Alpha could be that stupid.

"What did you do?" Sasuke asked warily. Was Naruto merely here to blow off some steam? Would he return to Gaara even though the man had been lying to him for their entire relationship?

Cerulean blue eyes looked straight into his when Naruto admitted, "I broke up with him. I just can't forgive him for lying to me like that and I can't give up my children's wish for him. I want to have children of my own, I want to feel my baby grow in me and I won't be able to have that if I stay with Gaara. I know I'm being selfish, but I can't stay with him." The last sentence came out in a rather choked voice and Naruto rubbed harshly across his eyes.

_Naruto had broken up with him_. He was no longer together with Gaara.

The Alpha inside of him started to croon in delight, but he forced it down. There was no reason to celebrate yet. Naruto breaking up with Gaara didn't mean he wanted to give Sasuke a chance. Especially not after they'd broken up so soon.

"Hey, you're not being selfish. It's perfectly naturally to want to have your own child," Sasuke murmured soothingly. He hesitated; not certain whether he really wanted to know the answer to his next question. "Why did you come here? I don't mind, but I'm sure that you have friends you could have gone to as well."

"I wanted to be at a place where Gaara wouldn't be able to find me. And …" Naruto paused, and Sasuke waited with baited breath. "And something in me was telling me that I needed to come here. That this is the place I'm supposed to be at." He flushed, obviously embarrassed and he stood up hastily. "I'm sorry, I know it sounds incredibly weird and stupid. I can't explain it, not really. I just … Shit, I'll – I'll just go now."

He turned around, ready to leave, and everything in Sasuke screamed at him to stop the blond Omega, to keep him from leaving.

To stop him from leaving _him_.

Before he could think twice, his hand shot out and closed around Naruto's left wrist, effectively stopping him in his tracks. Naruto turned around startled. "What …"

"Naruto, don't go. Please," Sasuke murmured and the Alpha inside reared its head as the thick, addictive scent rose up around them, thickening the air, hanging around them like a heavy cloud.

The scent suddenly grew worse and Sasuke couldn't contain the low growl of agitation escaping his throat when he sniffed the air, trying to figure out why the scent had grown worse. It wasn't merely the attraction that Naruto felt for him, but …

_Heat_.

The cloying sweetness of Naruto's heat was mingling with his regular scent and Sasuke fixated his eyes on a wide eyed Naruto. _Naruto. In heat_.

The Omega in front of him was in heat. He was becoming slick, very slick, and ready to be mated.

_He was Sasuke's._

Baring his teeth, a snarl escaped him in the form of, "Mine!" as most of his Alpha side took control.

Not giving the blond a chance to protest or run away, Sasuke harshly tugged him forwards and one of his hands buried itself in the fine, golden hair, gripping the locks tightly. Sasuke's mouth attached itself hungrily to Naruto's slack lips and he kissed him harshly, deep, forcing him to feel how much he had desired him. His tongue pressed insistently against lips, which had closed themselves in surprise, swiping across them and a helpless moan was torn out of Naruto when he opened his mouth, giving Sasuke access. No struggle at all; just an Omega who submitted himself to the Alpha before him willingly and Sasuke vaguely thanked whatever being had granted him the chance to touch Naruto, to have the blond responding so beautifully, so willingly.

The air grew heavy with the mixture of their pheromones and that only served to fire up Sasuke even more. He needed more, wanted more and so he pulled Naruto's head roughly back, giving him the opportunity to plunder his mouth more and the blond moaned – a sound that shot straight to Sasuke's groin.

To Sasuke's immense surprise and satisfaction, Naruto returned the passionate kiss with equal vigour; smaller hands buried themselves in dark hair and the blond pressed back eagerly, surrendering partly to the Alpha – Sasuke was quite happy with that. Tongues brushed teasingly against each other, playing, stroking along their palates and Sasuke couldn't contain a low groan when Naruto sucked on his tongue; giving Sasuke more chances to taste him – which only served to make him hungry for more.

A fire seemed to be spreading out throughout his entire body; a fire that could only be doused by Naruto touching him. His head was assaulted by the thick perfume of their pheromones mixing with each other, penetrating the air and the blond let out a sound of approval when Sasuke slid his hands underneath his arse and pressed upwards, so that Naruto ended up swinging his legs around Sasuke's waist.

The dark haired man couldn't help but massage and squeeze those supple buttocks, palming them roughly as he made his way upstairs; each step caused their hips to rub against each other and the contact – even through the barrier of clothing – served to entice him even more.

"Fuck, I want you," he breathed harshly and kicked the door to his bedroom open. This caused the Omega to jostle somewhat in his arms and their bodies rubbed even closer together, causing the blond to whimper. "You don't know how fucking sexy you look now. How sexy and attractive you are the entire time. Do you know how many times I had to hold myself back from taking you there and then? Do you have any idea _how crazy you make me feel?_ " He ended his question in a growl of agitation and he threw Naruto on the bed roughly; the blond bounced up and down lightly with a dazed look on his face.

_**This**_. This was what he had been dreaming of for so long. Naruto in his bed, willingly. Completely his. Nobody else to take him away. Just him and Sasuke.

Lust flared up in those bright blue eyes when Sasuke looked at him hungrily and Sasuke's fingers twitched with the desire to touch the blond again.

"I wish you could see yourself right now. Maybe next time I place you right in front of a mirror," Sasuke hissed as he climbed on the bed and crept forwards, itching to be closer to Naruto. "Would you like that? Would you like seeing yourself, all hot and sexy, while I take you again and again? Filling you up until you can't even scream anymore?"

"Fuck, Sasuke," Naruto moaned and he opened his legs wider to Sasuke's great delight, giving the Alpha space to lie in. His cheeks were flushed red with desire and his eyes glittered almost feverishly.

"Yes, I think you'd like that. I bet it would turn you on a lot, now, wouldn't it?" Sasuke hummed and smirked. Then again, Naruto wouldn't be the only one turned on by that particular scene … Becoming quite impatient by their current state of being dressed, he gripped Naruto's shirt firmly and pulled it up roughly.

The blond raised his arms, allowing the dark haired man to remove his shirt completely. Sasuke's own dark shirt was opened by trembling fingers and he smirked when he heard Naruto cursing in frustration as the buttons proved to be a hazard to open. He did succeed in removing all buttons, though, and the cloth was pushed back rather impatiently by the huffing blond – whose mouth dropped open when his eyes drank in Sasuke's naked chest. Sasuke couldn't help but preen a bit underneath the admiring gaze; he was quite proud of his firm abdominal muscles and he was more than happy to see that his hours of training paid off in the form of a nearly drooling blond.

"Like what you see?" Sasuke teased and roughly wrenched Naruto's jeans down. As soon as he got the annoying trousers off those slender legs, he threw it down on the floor carelessly.

"Can't complain," Naruto muttered and glanced at the other man almost shyly.

"Hm, glad to hear that," Sasuke murmured and pressed his lips to a spot right underneath Naruto's ear. A breathy moan reached his ears as he sucked the soft skin between his lips harshly and he released the bruised skin with a soft 'pop', licking soothingly over the darkening spot.

He held his breath when a soft mouth caressed his collarbone, teeth nipping playfully, as tanned hands wrestled with his belt and trousers.

Releasing his breath in a soft gush as his trousers were pushed down, he bent down and carefully pinched one of Naruto's pink nipples, which seemed to beckon him like some kind of beacon.

Above him, Naruto moaned a guttural "Oh god" and it brought a quick smirk to Sasuke's lips before he closed his mouth around the other neglected nipple and started to lavish the bud with his tongue as the blond crowed in pleasure. The Omega practically bent double as Sasuke carefully closed his teeth around the hard nipple, tugging at it softly. Slender fingers shot out and gripped his hair tightly, bringing him closer to Naruto's chest.

Naruto was simply perfection. His slender body writhed underneath Sasuke's touch, bringing himself closer, while his own tanned hands danced over Sasuke's skin; tracing firm muscles and thumbs rubbing over his nipples until Sasuke shivered underneath the teasing touches.

Their combined scents, which were steadily filling the air as their bodies got more and more worked up, seemed to change slightly, gaining an extra component; making him feel both heavy and light at the same time. Any other moment and Sasuke would have liked to examine what exactly this change entailed, but at this particular moment, he did not care.

All he cared about was the gorgeous, blond Omega twisting and writhing underneath his touch.

"You don't know how long I've fantasized about this," he confessed, whispering into Naruto's ear, and he let his fingers dip underneath Naruto's underwear, tugging at the elastic band. "How long I thought about having you here in my bed, naked, and completely mine. God, you feel even more amazing than I imagined." He sighed and brushed his lips across the other one's sharp collarbone.

"You wouldn't leave me alone in my dreams," Naruto admitted breathlessly to his pleasant surprise and he nosed Sasuke's cheek; a hand dipping down to brush against the Alpha's lower stomach. "Almost every god damn night I would dream about you."

"Hm, I bet that made you feel frustrated, huh?" Sasuke smiled deviously, while inside the Alpha was crowing in victory. So he hadn't been the only one tormented by dreams most nights. Something nagged at him in the back of his mind, but he ignored it, preferring to give his full attention to the squirming blond underneath him. "I'll take full responsibility for that." Without giving any warning at all, he ripped off Naruto's underwear, exposing the blond to his hungry gaze.

With the removal of the last barrier, Naruto's heat practically slammed into him and unwillingly his eyes closed as he inhaled deeply; enjoying the smell of the Omega in heat. "Fuck, you smell irresistible," he couldn't stop himself from muttering and his thumbs caressed protruding hipbones. He had never been so overwhelmed by the scent of an Omega in heat before, but he thought he could drown in this smell without any regrets whatsoever.

Especially when Naruto bucked his hips, opening his legs even wider and the smell of his heat seemed even more prominent now. The flush on his cheeks brightened and there was visible wetness between his legs that didn't come from sweat.

It only made the fire in Sasuke burn even brighter.

"You should see yourself now," Sasuke murmured and leered at the delectable picture that the blond was making now. He slipped two fingers between Naruto's buttocks, brushing against his wet entrance. The tip of his index finger swirled across the blond's opening, teasingly dipping inside, spreading the wetness a bit, while he gently fondled Naruto's balls with his other hand. His excitement reached another peak as he saw how much Naruto wanted this. "So wet already. Do you want it that much, hm?"

"Yes, yes, I want it!" Naruto replied frustrated and squirmed harder, pushing his arse against Sasuke's hand in an attempt to deepen the pressure. The blond whined in frustration when Sasuke retreated his hand, choosing instead to grab his hips.

"Say it. Say you want this, say you want me," Sasuke demanded feverishly and unwillingly his hands tightened their grip around Naruto's hips. He needed to hear it from Naruto that he wanted this, that he wanted Sasuke. It wasn't enough to see him squirming and writhing, begging for the Alpha's touch – he needed to hear him say it. Prove that he was here willingly and returned Sasuke's feelings.

"I want this; I want you. Damn it, Sasuke, I want you to fuck me!" Naruto snarled, baring his teeth in his frustration. He looked ready to jump forwards and Sasuke jolted, thoroughly enjoying how frustrated the blond looked.

"Was that so difficult?" Sasuke asked rhetorically, but not giving the blond the chance to retort, he bent his head and engulfed Naruto's hard cock – that by now had started to leak quite a bit – in his mouth completely, while he slipped one finger inside, past the rim which contracted around the intrusion; aided by the natural lubrication that was generously dripping out of Naruto's arse. The blond felt very, very wet around his finger; his inner muscles clamped down before they slowly relaxed again and he teasingly ran his finger across the hot channel.

Bobbing his head up and down, careful to keep his teeth covered, he took Naruto's prick deeper inside his mouth every time he went down, feeling him bump against the back of his throat. Never before had he been so grateful for his lack of gag reflex as he thoroughly enjoyed sucking and licking the blond's cock, letting his tongue swirl across the leaking tip and press teasingly against it, enjoying the taste. He quickly inserted a second finger alongside the first one to properly stretch the blond and was egged on by the tight grip those slender fingers had on his hair. His fingers stretched Naruto's entrance, pressing deeper and deeper as they spread inside the blond, opening him thoroughly; feeling the slick coating his fingers liberally.

"God, Sasuke," Naruto moaned and he felt him arch his back before his hips bucked uncontrollably. Sasuke didn't mind that Naruto was having trouble holding himself back; in fact he spurred him on by moaning appreciatively around him, very much enjoying the way the blond tasted.

Sasuke knew he had found Naruto's sweet spot when the blond howled in pleasure; his slender legs twitched, shook and he tightened them around Sasuke's head, blocking his ears partly, as hands scrambled across the rumpled bedsheets. The dark haired man kept pressing his fingers mercilessly against the prostate, massaging it firmly, as inner muscles ripped around his fingers, drawing them in further. Sasuke grinned; he hadn't known Naruto would be _this_ responsive and he enjoyed every second of it.

"What? No, no, no! You can't stop, you can't stop now!" Naruto babbled desperately when Sasuke pulled back completely – though that was with some slight regret, as he wanted nothing more than to bury himself inside the blond forever, feel those tight muscles clamp down around his cock.

Sasuke chuckled darkly and that sound caused the Omega to breathe shallowly with open mouth as glittering blue eyes widened when they looked into his own black ones – which by now were probably quite red as passion and lust swirled inside of him.

"Oh, I won't stop," Sasuke assured him with a dark smirk. Standing up, he threw his own underwear on the floor and searched through the top drawer of his nightstand for the tube of lubrication he had stashed away months ago. Sure, Naruto was well lubricated by now and while he wouldn't deny that he would love to enter him with solely the natural lubrication as aid – _god, he would probably feel impossibly tight then_ \- , now was not the time to try that out. They could try that out later.

_Later_. He liked the sound of that.

Just like he liked the fact that Naruto was looking at his body with a ravenous hunger. Those blue eyes gleamed fiercely as the blond rose up, leaning back on his hands with his legs spread wide. Another dose of his pheromones were released and helplessly Sasuke inhaled deeply once more, letting the scent cloud his mind. Urged on by the delicious smell, he slipped back into the bed in front of the Omega and his eyes zeroed in on the display the blond willingly offered him; showing how ready he was to be taken. His thighs had started to glisten with his own lubrication. He was perfection himself; his blond hair shone brightly in the dying sunlight and his cerulean blue eyes – the pupils nearly overtaking the colour completely – glowed.

"Seems like you're ready, hm?" Sasuke asked and caressed on firm thigh softly; the muscles quivered gently underneath his touch.

"Get on with it!" Naruto huffed and wiggled his arse; obviously becoming quite impatient.

Apparently Sasuke wasn't fast enough to cover his own angry red cock with lubrication in Naruto's opinion, because the blond suddenly started caressing his cock, wrapping his hand firmly around it as his thumb rubbed across his leaking slit, spreading out the pre come over the red tip teasingly.

Any other time and Sasuke might have sat back and enjoyed the show the Omega was putting on – because fuck, it was incredibly hot to see the blond pleasuring himself and the Alpha inside him purred in agreement - , but this time it pissed him off as _he_ wanted to be the one to pleasure the gorgeous man.

"Oh no, you don't!" he growled and grabbed Naruto's hand tightly to stop him. "The only way you're going to come is with my cock buried in you!"

"Fuck me then already!" Naruto bit out as his chest heaved up and down; beads of sweat coating his body.

"You asked for it!" Sasuke snarled and not giving the blond any chance to retreat, he wrenched open his thighs and thrusted into him, shoving his cock past the twitching, stretched, glistening rim, not stopping until he was completely buried inside the Omega; his balls resting against his firm buttocks. Naruto's inner muscles clamped down almost harshly around his cock, surrounding him with heat, which only served to make him grow even harder, filling up the Omega even more – something he had thought would have been impossible to do so after being so pent up. Then he had to pause and breathe deeply, as the warmth curled around him, setting his nerves ablaze. God, he hadn't thought being inside the lovely blond would be this amazing, this overwhelming. It was like being swallowed up by a relentless fire.

He was vaguely aware of Naruto yelling half in pain and half in pleasure as his body tried to adapt itself around the sudden intrusion. His muscles tightened firmly around Sasuke's cock once more, making the man groan lowly, and Naruto's breath washed over him in quick, shallow pants as he wrapped trembling arms around Sasuke's neck; his thighs quivering and shaking around Sasuke's hips.

"Okay?" Sasuke questioned breathlessly and forced himself to remain still, even though his cock throbbed fiercely and he wanted nothing more than to fuck the gorgeous Omega thoroughly. Naruto seemed to have a hard time accommodating him and he nosed his cheek as an apology.

"Yeah, yeah, move," Naruto ordered out of breath, blinking rapidly.

Well, he didn't have to say that twice. A quick grin flitted over Sasuke's lips and he briefly narrowed his eyes before he started an unforgiving rhythm, rolling his hips, burying his prick deeply inside with every thrust forwards, as Naruto threw his head back with a shout, raking his nails over Sasuke's back. Naruto clenched down around his cock every time he slid back inside, as if his body refused to let go of him and the Alpha didn't mind that sentiment at all. It was pure heaven to be buried inside Naruto.

Sasuke didn't know where to touch first; his hand wandered aimlessly up and down over Naruto's chest, tweaking his nipples, dipping into his navel teasingly, brushing across his lower stomach before caressing his thighs … while he gripped Naruto's right hand tightly with his other free one. Their fingers entangled gently as he pressed their hands onto the mattress, next to Naruto's head.

Their mouths found each other once more and they exchanged hungry kisses, which turned shallow whenever their breathing became too harsh and irregular to keep their lips connected. They turned deep, passion pouring through them, once they caught their breath again; their tongues brushing each other, stroking, caressing while their lips reddened, swelled up, became bruised due to the force they used to press their mouths together.

He had never felt like this before; he had thought that sex with his ex-girlfriend had been amazing, but those sensations paled by what he was experiencing now. Naruto's body moved against him as if they had done this dance multiple times before; slender fingers knew where to stroke, where to caress and pinch to make him go wild and the Omega's sweet voice begging him for more as his own hands ghosted over the soft skin only drove him crazier. Their pheromones caused his head to go foggy and his ears were assaulted by the stream of moans, weak whimpers and groans that they both let out as they gave themselves over to each other, not holding back at all.

"Fuck, you feel so amazing, so tight around me, so fucking gorgeous!" he cooed in Naruto's ear, wanting the blond to know how amazing he felt like and when he moved next, Naruto keened loudly. "You're completely mine now; nobody is going to take you from me! You're all mine: mine to love, mine to keep, mine to touch …"

Somewhere in the back of his mind, a sensible part was reminding him that he should keep a lid on his possessive ranting, in order not to scare the beautiful Omega, but he couldn't stop himself. Naruto was his now, completely his, and nobody would ever take him away from Sasuke. This was exactly how it should be, how it should feel like.

How could he have ever thought that that girl had been the one for him? Naruto was the one, he was certain of that now.

_Only his, his alone._

The blond howled when Sasuke pulled his legs over his shoulders, thereby forcing him nearly double and he sped up even more, wanting nothing more than to bury himself deeply inside the blond, to never let go again.

Of course everything had to come to an end eventually and as the pleasure kept steadily rising, his body seemingly overheating, he brought his hand between their joined bodies to caress the leaking, weeping cock of sobbing Omega.

"SASUKE!" Naruto screamed when he was thrown over the edge. His whole body shook and trembled, tightened around the dark haired man as if he refused to let go of him, as his come spurted out almost violently, coating his stomach and parts of his chest liberally.

Dark eyes zeroed in on one particular spot in Naruto's neck where his neck went over into his shoulder and he bared his teeth as the heat steadily built. Before he could stop himself, he bit down harshly in Naruto's neck as the inferno took him away; white light nearly blinding him as his hips stuttered as he let himself go. He removed his teeth from Naruto's neck and heard him whimper weakly as he spent himself inside the blond, moaning lowly in his ear. His seed filled Naruto's channel until it overflowed, practically dripping out of his stretched and raw looking entrance.

When the heat died down, they looked at each other for a long moment; their breathing almost synchronized. Sasuke was fairly certain there was still some blood smeared on his lips, but Naruto didn't pull back when he kissed him slowly. On the contrary, the blond leisurely lapped at his lips, seemingly not bothered by the taste of iron and rust.

Their heat didn't stay quenched for long and throughout the entire night, they joined their bodies over and over again in various positions until they were sated.

They fell asleep together, their sweaty bodies knotted within the sheets; their fingers entangled.

* * *

The next morning Sasuke was the first one to stir and he stilled when he felt a warm body next to him. Slowly he opened his eyes and he held his breath when he realised that he was looking at golden blond hair and a tanned shoulder which gently rose up and down. Was this yet another cruel dream? Would he soon wake up and encounter nothing but a cold bed?

Dread stirring inside of him, he carefully reached out and pinched his own thigh; he managed to hold back the hiss that wanted to escape when the sharp pain flared up momentarily.

A smile of wonder bloomed open on his face as he realised that this was not a dream. Naruto was in his bed, next to him, sleeping. Naruto had really come to him yesterday, had returned his kiss and his touch, and they had mated.

Dark eyes lingered on the bruised and angrily red spot, placed right between Naruto's neck and shoulder. He had given the Omega the Mark. They were bonded for the rest of their lives now. Nothing could ever separate them.

He thought he would start panicking now. His ex-girlfriend had nagged him to give her the Mark and he had always hold himself back, even when she had used her pheromones to lure him into doing it. He had resisted her, had been furious at her for trying to trick him into Marking her, but all he felt now was a sense of pride, of fierce possession. This beautiful Omega was now his completely. His to cherish, his to love, his to take care of for the rest of their lives.

He knew he should be really panicking now; he had Marked Naruto in the throes of passion, when he hadn't been in the right state of mind to consider the consequences, but he was calm.

Naruto wasn't just a one night stand, wasn't someone he was just messing around with to relieve his heat. No, Naruto was his soulmate, the one person made to complete him. The only one that could make him feel whole.

He had suspected it for a while now that they were soulmates. The overwhelming scent had been one of the first clues that had made him suspicious. The way they were constantly drawn towards each other; the way they reacted so strongly whenever they were near each other had been other signs that had made him suspicious. Yesterday had just confirmed his suspicion once and for all. There was no reason for them to be so overwhelmed by the pheromones, their proximity unless they were soulmates. No reason for their attraction to be so fierce if their bond wasn't so strong. Hell, it would even explain why Sasuke had got so many dreams about the blond.

The odd pull he had felt towards the blond from the very beginning had finally been explained.

Against all odds, he had found his soulmate. Something he hadn't thought would ever happen. Something he thought would never apply to him.

A year before and this fierce sense of love that surged upwards at the sight of the sleeping blond would have terrified him, would have probably sent him running for the hills. Now, he only shook his head at his own silliness as a sense of rightness fell over him like a soft blanket.

He knew that the upcoming months wouldn't be easy, but he felt prepared to deal with everything now. Because no matter what the universe would throw at him, he knew he had Naruto by his side.

Let the universe throw at him whatever it wanted – he was ready for it.

He had Naruto and that was all that mattered now.

* * *

"No, I'm not going to let you go alone," Sasuke stated adamantly and frowned as he leant back with crossed arms against the counter top.

Dark blue eyes stared at him exasperatedly as their owner shook his head. "Come on, Sasuke. I need to go back and get my stuff. I also need to talk to Gaara."

"But why do you need to go there on your own?" Sasuke said and his nails burrowed themselves into his sleeves as he tried to hold himself back from growling angrily.

Almost two weeks had gone by since they first slept together and they hadn't left each other's side for long throughout that entire time. Their heats were worse than they had experienced before and while they talked a lot, getting to know each other now that they had the time, their time together was also filled with a lot of making love as they familiarized themselves with each other's bodies. Sasuke had barely been able to go to his work, because he couldn't bring himself to leave the beautiful blond behind.

It also didn't help that their sex drive was now out of control completely. In fact they were just done dressing themselves after yet another heated encounter in the living room.

And while their time together was blissful – and perfect if you asked Sasuke - , since a couple of days ago more and more arguments were popping up, all centred around one topic: Naruto returning to the house he shared with Gaara to grab his stuff.

Sasuke knew that the blond needed to pick up his stuff eventually – he couldn't keep walking around dressed in Sasuke's clothes or completely naked (even though Sasuke wasn't complaining about that at all) – but the dark haired man absolutely despised the thought of letting Naruto near the red haired Alpha again. He couldn't and wouldn't let the Omega enter that house on his own. Who knew what could happen? All the possible scenarios popping up in his mind only served to make him more anxious and had him grinding his teeth together in an effort to not lash out.

"Look, nothing is going to happen, all right?" Naruto sighed and shifted his weight from one leg to the other one, wincing slightly. "I just … He deserves some explanation, you know? I did storm out without giving him a real chance to explain himself."

Sasuke scowled at him. "He deserves nothing after the way he treated you!" he spat out. "He lied to you the entire time, Naruto! He doesn't deserve …"

"I know he did, Sasuke," Naruto interrupted him and the tone of exhaustion in the blond's voice made him shut up. "But …" He hesitated visibly and shook his head. "I – I need some form of closure, okay? I was with him for nearly five years. You can't expect me to ignore him for the rest of my life after all that time."

_Do you still love him?_ was on the tip of Sasuke's tongue, but he didn't dare to ask it. He didn't want to hear the answer. Naruto was with him now, carrying his Mark – that had to be enough, right?

Naruto seemed to read something in his face, because his eyes softened and he came over to hug Sasuke, wrapping his arms around him firmly. He tilted his head back and said, "I'm not planning on going back to him, Sasuke. I chose you and I'm staying with you. But I need to do this."

Sasuke bit the inside of his cheek and slowly wound his arms around Naruto's slender waist. He really, _really_ didn't want Naruto near Gaara – whether that was because the heat was still going on and his Alpha was madly possessive or merely because their bond had already developed to something that was beyond what most bonds were capable of; whatever it was, the thought of having Naruto near that son of a bitch made him snarl in fury.

But the rational part in him knew that it was time that Naruto had a talk with his ex-boyfriend. The blond needed some kind of closure eventually.

That didn't mean he would let the blond go alone, though. Every cell in his being screamed in protest.

"Fine, but I don't want you to go alone," he stated stubbornly.

"Sasuke, what do you want me …"

"I'll go with you," Sasuke offered hurriedly. He wasn't exactly looking forward to seeing Gaara again, but the prospect of having Naruto alone with the guy didn't sit well with him either.

"You don't have to, Sasuke," Naruto started to say, rubbing his hands soothingly over Sasuke's bare arms. "I can go …"

"Naruto, please. I don't want you to go alone," Sasuke insisted and something in his eyes must have warned the blond not to push the subject further.

Naruto pursed his lips and nodded slowly in acquiescence. "Fine, you can come with me. But, you're not going to get into some sort of stupid Alpha fight with Gaara, understood? I don't want to keep you two apart." Blue eyes looked at him warningly.

The dark haired man sniffed and nuzzled Naruto's cheek. "I'll behave if he does," he promised and placed a kiss on Naruto's Mark, feeling his own one tingling. Naruto had Marked him four days ago after one particular heated session. He had seemed hesitant at first, but Sasuke had reassured him that he wanted to be Marked by the Omega. He belonged as much to the blond as the Omega belonged to him and he saw no need to hide that fact.

"I suppose that's the best I can expect," Naruto muttered and then squeaked when Sasuke bent down to pick him up bridal style, carrying him upstairs to what had now become their bedroom.

"Again?" Naruto teased, but the glimmer in his eyes told Sasuke that the blond was very receptive to what he was now planning.

He smirked and dropped him on the bed, immediately crawling on top of him. "Can't get enough of you," he murmured and set about making the Omega scream for the nth time that week.

And if he partly mated with Naruto to make certain that his scent was all over the blond, just as a precaution, well, nobody could really blame him for that, right?

* * *

In the end, Naruto did not take his stuff with him yet, save for some clothes. Their entire time in that house was spent with Gaara attempting to convince Naruto to come back to him – even though he had clearly seen Sasuke's Mark in the blond's neck and could smell the dark haired man on the Omega– and Naruto awkwardly insisting that it was really over between them, but that he was sorry about the way he had ended it.

Meanwhile it took every shred of control Sasuke had over himself to keep him from ripping that bastard apart with his bare hands. The feeling seemed to be mutual as the red haired Alpha kept snarling and clenching his hands into tight fists whenever he so much as glanced at Sasuke.

They left eventually, with Naruto promising to return to get the rest of his stuff, and Sasuke only relaxed when they were back inside their home.

Their coupling that night was quite rough and fast, driven by Sasuke's fear of losing the blond to the red haired Alpha despite the Mark. Somewhere in the back of his mind he thought he should hold himself back, be more careful as to not hurt Naruto, but his fear of losing the blond was bigger than the fear of hurting him and he didn't stop until he was certain that the Omega was practically coated in his scent. The soothing motion of Naruto's hand raking through his hair afterwards, however, put him at ease as he laid his head on Naruto's chest, hearing his heart beating underneath his ear.

"I chose you, Sasuke, remember that," Naruto murmured and they shared a soft, tender kiss before sleep took them away.

* * *

He cranked open the window a bit more in a futile attempt to catch a breeze to defeat the stifling warmth inside his office. No such luck there as he was only greeted by the glaring sun beams.

Fuck, he utterly despised the sun.

Drawing the curtains close, he sat back down behind his desk and turned the fan a bit more towards him.

"And you can't come fix it sooner?" Sasuke asked, trying his best to hide the note of irritation in his voice. It was difficult to remain polite, however, when one felt as if they could sweat right out of their skin. His air conditioning had decided to break down right when summer announced itself and he had been trying to find someone to fix it for two days already.

"I'm sorry, Mister Uchiha, but the earliest I can come over is next week on Tuesday," the other man answered apologetically.

He barely could keep himself from growling and he tugged at his hair. "Fine, Tuesday it is then. How late?" he questioned curtly.

"Nine thirty if that is possible for you."

After exchanging more information like the address and the price range, Sasuke hung up and leant back in his chair with a sigh of frustration.

God, at days like this one he wanted nothing more than to go home, back to his air conditioned house, and pull Naruto into the shower with him.

Unwillingly the corners of his mouth turned up in a soft smile when he thought about his blond mate. They were together for nearly three months now and he didn't think life could get any better now that Naruto had officially moved out the house he had shared with Gaara for almost five years. Sure, with Naruto came two cats – which he hadn't foreseen – but after a first rough week that consisted of him being nearly mauled twice by Kurama and hearing Shukaku hiss at him every time he wanted to touch Naruto, he and the cats had come to an agreement. He tolerated their presence and they tolerated his in exchange for some extra treats.

It still felt like a dream to return to his house every evening and find Naruto waiting for him with dinner prepared and a kiss to greet him. He had never dared to believe that he would one day encounter his soulmate and so he still occasionally pinched himself just to reassure him of the fact that nothing was a dream.

Naruto was really living together with him, sharing his house, and he was his mate. His soulmate.

Who would have ever thought that he would find his other half? He didn't think it could possibly get better than what he had now.

Maybe …

His phone ringing brought him out of his musing abruptly and he blinked, the room coming back into focus. Throwing a glance at the vibrating device, he furrowed his eyebrows when he saw that Deidara was calling him. Why would his brother-in-law call him now? Weren't he and Naruto out today for some shopping?

He accepted the call with some trepidation. "Yes?"

"Sasuke-kun, do you have many appointments left this afternoon?" Deidara asked him, forgoing his usual greeting.

"I have two patients coming over for a regular check-up in twenty minutes," Sasuke replied and frowned. "Why?"

"I need you to cancel those appointments and go straight home," Deidara informed him and somewhere in the background, the dark haired man thought he could hear someone protesting faintly.

"Why? Did something happen to Naruto?" Sasuke asked and swallowed with some difficulty. He could think of no other reason why he needed to cancel his appointments and go home immediately. Did Naruto have an accident? What had happened?

"Not in the negative sense of the word," the blond answered mysteriously. "I just need you to immediately go home now. You and Naruto need to discuss something very important. Don't you dare dawdle!" With that he ended the call without giving the Alpha the chance to say something.

Worry swirling around, he gathered his stuff quickly, closed down his computer and told Karin that she needed to set up the appointments at a later date.

He didn't know what this very important issue was that he and Naruto had to discuss, but he wasn't planning on letting the blond wait for long.

Hands clenched tightly around the steering wheel and his gut churning with worry and apprehension, he made his way home.

* * *

The white stick in his hand shouldn't feel so foreign, he mused faintly as his gaze stayed fixated on the pregnancy stick Naruto had nervously handed over when he practically ran inside the house just five minutes ago.

A _positive_ pregnancy stick.

Something he had seen many times before as his patients showed it to him to prove that they were expecting a baby. He had never thought that the next pregnancy stick he would hold in his hands would have such a personal meaning. He had never expected to arrive home to such a life changing event.

A pregnancy stick with the plus symbol only had one meaning. This positive sign meant …

"You're having a baby? My baby?" Sasuke asked dumbfounded and he found that he had difficulties tearing his eyes off the pregnancy test.

"Y-yes; I don't know how far I am, but I'm pregnant. I'm having a baby," Naruto replied meekly and his blue eyes were wide with shock and worry.

A baby. Naruto was expecting a child. _**His baby**_. His mate was carrying his child in his womb.

_There was a_ _**child** _ _growing inside Naruto._

He was going to be a father. He started to feel faint and his mouth dried up. Well, this certainly explained why Naruto had been nauseous so often the last couple of weeks. Now that he paid closer attention, he thought he could pick up the new addition to Naruto's scent: the smell of sweet milk. That meant Naruto had to be a bit more than two months pregnant. He could smack himself for not recognising the signs sooner, but in his defence he hadn't thought Naruto would fall pregnant so soon.

Then again, now that he thought about it, he realised that they had never used any form of protection when they slept together. It wasn't as if Sasuke had been consciously trying to impregnate Naruto – using protection just had never come up in his mind for some odd reason.

When he managed to tear his gaze off the test, he saw that Naruto had folded his arms across his stomach, as if he wanted to protect the baby from something. "I know we haven't been together for that long, but Sasuke, I'm keeping the baby," he said, visibly swallowing and he looked down, avoiding Sasuke's eyes. "I can't … Don't ask me to get rid of this baby. I won't."

Naruto thought he would force him to abort the baby? How could he even think that? Sure, he hadn't consciously thought of having a child together with Naruto, but now that he knew Naruto was pregnant, he found that he didn't mind the prospect of becoming a father so soon. Which should have shocked him, considering he had been against having children with his ex-girlfriend, but he had learnt by now that Naruto made him look at life in a completely different way.

The thought that Naruto was carrying his daughter or son made him almost giddy with excitement and a huge smile threatened to break through.

But there was still the matter of Naruto fearing he would make him get an abortion.

"Why on earth would I ask you to get rid of it?" Sasuke inquired incredulously.

Naruto looked up in shock and he stared at the other man with an open mouth. "Be-because we haven't been together for that long. And, and I don't know how you feel about children," he replied weakly, biting his lip.

A surge of love rushed through him and he knelt down in front of the blond, reaching out with his right hand to caress his cheek tenderly. "I don't care how long we've been together. I want this baby and if you want it too, then we keep it."

There was no way he could even contemplate the thought of getting rid of their child. Everything in him protested against that idea.

"You're not mad?" Naruto asked in a small voice and he seemed incredulous, as if he couldn't understand what was happening.

"Naruto, why the hell would I be mad about this? You're carrying my baby – I've never been so happy in my life. Don't you know how happy you make me? And now you're giving me a baby as well; trust me when I say that I'm the happiest man on this earth right now," Sasuke whispered and leant forwards to kiss the blond man deeply. "I love you. I want you in my life, at my side, and I want to raise this baby with you."

He hadn't thought he could be capable of feeling so much love for one person and his hand – the one that had been caressing Naruto's cheek – trembled slightly. He felt so overwhelmed with love and affection for the man in front of him right now that it was a wonder he hadn't fainted yet. It didn't matter that they hadn't been together for that long yet; he was certain of what he felt and nothing could persuade him otherwise.

Naruto offered him a trembling, but tender smile as a couple of tears escaped his beautiful, blue eyes, which were softly kissed away by Sasuke. "I love you too," Naruto murmured and his eyes closed when Sasuke carefully covered the Omega's midsection with his hand, lowering it on top of a smaller, tanned one. This was where his child was growing for now.

The future had seemed so bleak just a year ago. His life had been nothing but routine, which had been uprooted suddenly by one beautiful, blond man.

The road to finding him, to having him in his arms finally, had not been easy at all and had made him despair at times, but now he could say that everything had been worth it.

All the longing, fear, worry … Everything had been worth it to have Naruto now in his arms, ready to share his life with him. Ready to create a family with him.

Against all odds, he had found the one to whom his heart belonged.

Their kiss was sweet with the promise of a bright future.

A future together.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: And we have finally arrived at the last chapter of Sasuke's pov. (Who would have thought that Sasuke's pov ended up being longer than Naruto's? *sweatdrops*). This is the end of this fic, but naturally their story will go on in the form of omake which will be posted in the near future :)
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and the comments!
> 
> I'm really happy for all the support this story gathered, guys; I never thought it would grow out to be this popular! 
> 
> Warnings: flashback and fluff, I suppose. A nervous Sasuke as well LOL And naturally mentioned MPreg. Oh and a significantly shorter chapter than the previous ones
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto owns it.
> 
> I hope you'll like this last chapter!
> 
> Please let me know for the last time (for this story at least) what you think of the chapter! Should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.
> 
> For now I say goodbye and I hope to see you all again in the omake!
> 
> Cuddles
> 
> Melissa

_Chapter 8: Epilogue_

Pale fingers trembled slightly as they finished tying the pale blue obi around his waist. The midnight blue cloth of his kimono sleeves draped loosely around his arms, soft against his skin. The dark haired man turned around and checked his back in the mirror; his family's emblem – a fan with one half coloured red and the other half white – was stitched right in the middle of the kimono and dark eyes traced the outline of the fan contemplatively.

This was it now. After today it would not only be the Mark that bound him to the beautiful, blond Omega, but the law would recognise their union as well.

His breath hitched as nerves started to play up as they had done so often already this morning and a tremor went through his arms as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

God, he hadn't expected to feel this nervous for his wedding day! He thought that proposing to Naruto would bring up the most nerves, but it seems like that was just a taste of what real nerves actually were.

_This particular moment didn't happen often in his life, but Sasuke had to grudgingly admit that he didn't know what to do now. What on earth was he supposed to do now? Which one should he choose?_

_Lingering in front of the jewellery store, he bit his lower lip as his eyes flitted from one ring to the other one. All kinds of rings were displayed behind the window: simple golden bands; silver rings; rings with huge diamonds on top; rings containing several smaller stones; rings with one small, silver diamond. One thing they all had in common was that they all glistered beautifully in the light, beckoning to passer byes, trying to convince them to buy them._

" _God, what am I doing?" he murmured and felt completely out of his comfort zone. Maybe he should wait a bit longer? After all they had only been together for four months. Then again Naruto was pregnant and he wanted to do the right thing. But he also didn't want to give the blond the feeling that he only asked him because of the baby. Certainly, the baby was part of the reason, but overall he just wanted to prove his love for the Omega through this commitment._

_But what would Naruto say if he asked him? He had just left a relationship where he had been denied several things – would he be ready for something as important as this already? It was one thing to prepare himself for a baby, but a whole other thing to …_

_Sasuke swallowed and shakily breathed out, raking a hand through his hair. He was a mess already and he hadn't even selected a ring yet! He didn't even know what type of ring Naruto would like!_

_Shit, he really hadn't thought this through._

_Scowling heavily at the glittering rings, he turned around and marched back to his car, feeling the sun beating down on his skin. How was it possible to be so flustered over one simple ring?_

_Ah, but it wasn't a simple ring of course. This ring had to properly convey his feelings for the blond man and thus it had to be perfect._

_But what kind of ring would Naruto like? The Alpha had no clue and that irritated him. He could just ask Naruto directly, of course, but he didn't want to give away his intentions. He still hoped to surprise Naruto – and not have that blow up in his face naturally._

_Slipping behind the wheel, he tapped on the steering wheel impatiently. Well, he had no choice left but to ask_ him _for help and hope the other man wouldn't spoil the surprise._

_With a sigh, he started the car, hoping that the older man was home._

* * *

" _You're serious, un?" Deidara asked shocked, but a hint of excitement was working its way through his voice._

" _No, I'm just fucking with you," Sasuke deadpanned and then had to duck away in order to avoid the incoming smack of the huffing blond. "Yes, of course I'm serious. Do you really think I would joke about something like this?"_

_Deidara folded his arms on top of the table and regarded him with scrutiny. "Well, Sasuke-kun, excuse me for not immediately believing you. You do remember being single for nearly six years and absolutely refusing any date or commitment to another person, un? And now you're telling me you want to marry Naruto-kun after not even being together for six months?"_

_Sasuke pursed his lips and looked away, feeling slightly embarrassed. "I just … It feels right," he stammered, trying to figure out how to explain why he wanted to marry Naruto without making a fool out of himself. But he guessed that trying not to make a fool out of himself was a moot point, considering he was asking his brother-in-law for advice about engagement rings._

_Baby blue eyes softened. "Itachi told me that you think Naruto-kun is your soulmate," he murmured, absentmindedly tracing circles on the table._

" _Not 'think' – I'm sure of it," Sasuke corrected him and bit his lower lip. When he had told his brother that he was now certain that Naruto was his soulmate – he had called him three days after he had first slept with the blond – Itachi had seemed to believe him, stating he was happy for him. "That's why I don't want to screw this up. I don't know what kind of ring Naruto would like. Hell, I don't even know whether he wants to get married! Do you think I'm making a mistake?"_

_Deidara grabbed his wrist and squeezed in it. "Hey, you're not making a mistake, un," he said firmly. "And I'm sure that Naruto-kun will say yes to you. He always wanted to get married one day, but Gaara-san was never interested in it. I'll help you choose a ring, okay? It'll be fine, you'll see, un."_

_The dark haired man breathed out slowly and offered the long haired blond a tentative smile. "Thank you for helping me."_

" _Any time, un." Deidara winked._

* * *

_On the fourteenth of August, Sasuke and Naruto drove to Itachi's place, where Akihito's sixth birthday would be celebrated._

" _I also need to get another check-up for my car," Naruto muttered and shifted his legs around the two presents on the floor. "The engine is making an odd sound."_

" _Or you could just let me buy you a new car and you can dump that old thing," Sasuke suggested exasperatedly and turned left._

_Naruto clucked his tongue and shook his head. "No, Sasuke, I'm not going to let you buy me a new car," he said stubbornly. "That's way too expensive!"_

" _It's not expensive at all. I can afford at least three more cars," Sasuke pointed out and threw a quick scowl at the blond man sitting next to him. "Why on earth do you insist on keeping that death trap?"_

" _It's not a death trap." Naruto rolled his eyes. "It just needs some fixing up, that's all."_

_That old car needed a lot more than fixing up – a trip to the junkyard would be an improvement if you asked Sasuke. Naruto might have become slightly better at accepting gifts, but his car still remained the source of many arguments._

_One way or another Sasuke would succeed in getting rid of that old car and would get Naruto to drive into a decent car. Ever since they had discovered that Naruto was pregnant, it was like every possible danger was highlighted to Sasuke and Naruto's car was practically screaming "accident waiting to happen", making the Alpha quite antsy and eager to get rid of it._

_If this was how Itachi had felt throughout the pregnancies of Deidara, it was no wonder he had been so on edge. Sasuke thought he had found some new respect for his older brother for being able to remain so calm._

" _We're going to discuss this later," he muttered and started driving again after the light had turned green._

" _There's nothing to discuss," Naruto retorted and pouted, looking out of the window._

_Sasuke rolled his eyes; his mate was way too stubborn for his own good._

* * *

" _Are you going to ask him now, un?" Deidara popped up, seemingly out of nowhere, next to Sasuke who nearly jumped up in surprise._

_The party was in full swing and Akihito was excitedly showing everyone – including his baby brother who was looking wide eyed at everything – his presents while he stuffed his face full with chocolate cake. Mother was taking pictures and father was somewhere in the crowd – most likely discussing something business related with Uncle Madara. Itachi remained near Akihito, making certain that he didn't drop anything while Naruto was cooing at Shion._

_A pale hand covered the outline of the small box in his pocket and Sasuke swallowed. "You're certain you don't mind? It's Akihito's birthday; I can ask him another time," he replied in a lowered voice. He wasn't certain how the small boy would react if his uncle was to 'steal the show' so to speak and he wasn't in the mood to hear a tantrum._

" _I wouldn't have suggested it if I minded it," Deidara huffed. "Itachi doesn't mind either and Akihito will be happy."_

" _You told Itachi about this?!" Sasuke asked alarmed and shot a quick look at his older brother, who merely raised his eyebrow before returning his attention to his oldest son._

" _Of course I did. You know full well it's hard to keep secrets from that man, un," Deidara complained and then his face softened when he caught sight of the look of utter panic plastered on the dark haired man's face. "Hey, it's going to be fine, you know. You want to marry him, right?"_

" _Of course I do," Sasuke muttered and his hand clenched involuntarily around the box. Of course he wanted to marry Naruto – there was no doubt in his mind left about that. But now that the moment of proposing was drawing near, he realised how utterly terrified he was of getting down on his knees, making himself vulnerable in front of Naruto, without knowing for certain that he would get a positive answer. God, he hadn't thought this through completely, huh?_

" _Go then. You have a mate to propose to," Deidara grinned and gave him a gentle shove._

" _Well, here goes nothing," Sasuke muttered underneath his breath and with his heart intent on hammering straight through his chest, he walked on unsteady legs to the oblivious blond._

" _Naruto."_

_The Omega turned around with a smile; one of his hands rubbing over his belly. It was slowly becoming more obvious that he was expecting a child._

" _Yes?" he asked and smiled bemused._

_Come on, you can do it, Sasuke encouraged himself mentally and took a deep breath, ignoring how the butterflies were racing in his stomach. Swiftly he grabbed the small box out of his pocket and sunk down on one knee in front of a shocked Naruto._

" _Sasuke, what are …"_

" _Naruto, I know that we have only been together for a couple of months now," Sasuke started and was keenly aware of the hushed silence that had fallen over the party. Ignoring the astonished stares as much as he could, he continued, "But I want you to know that I love you with all my heart, everything I have in me and I am not ashamed to show that. I want to do the right thing; I want everyone to know how much I love you, how much I adore you. You're the light in my life, the reason for me existing. You're my other half; the only one in the world who completes me. You fill the void in my life that I didn't even know existed. You make life worth living and to this day I still don't know how I managed to have you as my mate. You're everything I didn't know I wanted and there is no one else I would want to share my life with. Naruto, will you do me the honour of marrying me and making me the happiest and luckiest man alive?" He opened the small, dark box, revealing a golden ring with a single small diamond on top of it. When it caught the light it seemed to have a faint blue shine to it, which had reminded the Alpha of Naruto's beautiful, blue eyes._

_Naruto stared at him flabbergasted; his mouth open in shock. Clearly he hadn't expected this at all and Sasuke started to feel more nervous with every second that passed without the blond giving him an answer._

" _Naruto?" he asked uncertainly and his voice wavered._

" _Naruto-niisan, Sasuke-jisan asked you a question," Akihito piped up, breaking the tense silence. "You're going to say 'yes', right? Because you and Sasuke-jisan are happy."_

_That seemed to bring Naruto out of his stupor and he started laughing as tears dripped over his cheeks; his eyes glittering brightly. "Oh god, yes! Yes, I want to marry you!"_

_Sasuke barely had the time to slip the ring around Naruto's finger when the blond threw himself at him, causing the Alpha to topple over at the unexpected move and land on his back with his mate on top of him. Sasuke's arms automatically wound themselves around Naruto's waist as the blond started peppering his face with kisses._

" _I love you, I love you so god damned much," Naruto whispered against his lips before they shared a deep kiss as their family and friends erupted in cheering around them._

_Sasuke's mouth curled up in a smile underneath Naruto's lips and he carefully tightened his grip around his fiancé._

_**His fiancé** _ _._

_He very much liked the sound of that._

A knock on the door jerked him back out of his memories. "Yes?"

Itachi slipped inside the room, closing the door behind him. His dark eyes studied his younger brother intently. "You're ready? Everyone has arrived. Even Uncle Madara showed up."

"Yes, I'm ready," Sasuke muttered and couldn't help but fidget a bit.

That didn't escape Itachi's notice and he came closer. "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," Sasuke breathed out and ran a hand through his hair. He let out a trembling chuckle. "It just feels unreal, you know? I can't believe I'm marrying Naruto today!" He turned around and didn't succeed in hiding his desperation as he joked feebly, "Hopefully Naruto won't start having cold feet now."

As he said it, an icy fear wrapped its ugly tendrils around his heart. What if Naruto had changed his mind? What if he thought that having a baby was enough for now and he wanted to wait with the wedding? What if Naruto had decided that the Mark would be good enough for the rest of their lives?

God, the blond wouldn't regret marrying him, surely? He had said 'yes' after all. But maybe that had just been because he had been overwhelmed at the time.

Panic was steadily building inside him and he nearly jumped three feet in the air when his forehead was suddenly poked. Instantly he reared back and scowled at his brother, rubbing over his forehead. "What was that for?" he cried out in dismay.

"Stop worrying so much!" Itachi sighed exasperatedly. "Naruto-kun is out there, waiting to marry you. He's not going to change his mind, Otouto."

"You can't be sure of that," Sasuke protested weakly and his stomach clenched in fear. "What if he thinks that it's too soon and …"

"Otouto, I've known Naruto for a long time now," Itachi interrupted him and his face softened for a fraction. "He's got to be one of the most stubborn people I know; if he didn't want to marry you, he would have told you that already. He's not going to run out on you; he loves you. Everyone can see how much in love he is with you. If anything, he's probably becoming impatient that it's taking so long."

Sasuke smiled faintly and some of his fear and panic ebbed away, soothed by Itachi's reassuring remarks. "Thanks, Itachi-niisan," he muttered.

Itachi stepped closer and enclosed him in his arms, surprising the younger man with the unexpected gesture. "I'm proud of you, Otouto," he whispered in Sasuke's ear and tightened his embrace. "And I'm happy to see you happy again after all those years. Don't ever let Naruto-kun go, Sasuke. He's one of a kind and he's good for you."

"I know," Sasuke murmured in a thick voice and returned the embrace, feeling a bit embarrassed when he felt the sting of tears behind his eyes.

"Come on now," Itachi murmured after a short silence and pulled back. "It's time for you to get married."

Sasuke smiled and straightened his back, feeling more confident as he followed his older brother out of the room. Yes, today he was going to get married to the love of his life, the father of his son. It had taken him a long time to find Naruto, but the wait had been worth it.

Today the first day of the rest of their lives together would start.

* * *

Later on, Sasuke would barely remember anything that happened on the actual wedding. All he knew were bright, glittering eyes, the colour of the summer's sky, and soft, plumps lips that yielded underneath his own.

All he remembered was the reassuring, comforting presence of his husband – _his husband_ – next to him and the vague tumbling of their unborn son underneath their joined hands.

It didn't matter that he couldn't remember much, though. What he did remember was the most important thing and that was that his life could really start now.


End file.
